












S9^ 



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PRICE, 50 CENTS. 













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HOW AND WHAT TO GROW 



IN A 



KITCHEN GAEDEISr 

OF ONE ACRE. 



DARLINGTON and MOLL. 



TH'E 



HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. 



By W. ATLEE BURPEE. 



Full descriptions and large illustrations given of the leading 
varieties of Land and Water Fowls. It also contains chapters 
on Poultry Houses, SELECxioisr and Mating of Stock, 
What and How to Feed, Geneeal Management, Deess- 
ING and Shipping Poultey, Eggs and Chickens, Dieec- 
tions foe Caponizing, Diseases, How to Raise Good 
TuEKEYS, ETC., ETC. Fully Illustrated. 

The New Edition for 1888 contains, besides the above, 
an illustrated chapter on the training and care of Scotch 
Colly or Shepheed Dogs, also new improved plans of Poultry 
Houses, with illustration. 

Price, 50 Cts. in paper ; 75 Cts. bound in cloth. Sent, post- 
paid, by mail, upon receipt of price by the Publishers, 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA., 
and at 13*3 Cannon St,, London, E, C, England, 



B^^Buepee's Illusteated Catalogue of Thoeoughbeed 
Live Stock and Fancy Poultey sent free, on application, to 
all interested. 



HOW AND WHAT TO GROW 



IN 



KITCHEN GARDEN 

OF ONE ACRE. 



BY 

E. D. DARLINGTON and L. :^^ MOLL. 

> 

EDITED BY 

W. ATLEE BUEPEE. 



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Ml 



y^fSKy^ 







«.m FEB 13 1888 7-, 



/ 



1888. -• 

PUBLISHED BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., 

Nos. 475 AND 477 North Fifth Street, 

Nos. 476 AND 478 York Avenue, 

PHILADELPHIA. 



Copyrighted, 1888, 

BY 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 






EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



In Burpee's Farm Annual for 1887 we offered 
cash prizes for the two best essays, to be sent us by 
October, 1887, upon the subject, " How and What 
TO Grow in a Kitchen Garden of One Acre." 
In its original form E. D. Darlington's essay cov- 
ered more fully than any other the operations and 
best methods to pursue in the management of the 
garden, and was awarded the first prize. Being 
desirous, however, of making this work not only 
practical but thoroughly complete in all departments, 
and from personal acquaintance with Mr. Darlington 
and his gardening operations, together with the fact 
that for some years he had tested numerous varieties 
of vegetables for us, we arranged with him to entirely 
revise and enlarge his essay. In compliance with 
our request he has entered more into detail in the 
directions for culture, and has added impartial 
descriptions of the varieties that he has found best 
adapted both to the Kitchen Garden and the table. 
To make the treatise more complete, he prepared a 



vi editor's preface. 

diagram of his own kitchen garden, which is one 
acre in size, as laid out for a year's w^ork. Some 
varieties grown are not marked in the diagram, as 
they are worked in as parts of other rows, but this is 
all fully explained in the body of his treatise. 

To add to the value of the book as a plain and 
practical guide for the novice in gardening, w^e have 
had illustrations engraved showing the tw^o plans 
of hotbeds, the methods of storing roots for w^inter 
use, etc. We have also inserted engravings, mostly 
drawn from nature, of the leading varieties of vege- 
tables described in the text, that the gardener may 
have an accurate idea of the form of the different 
varieties and may be able to tell whether his pro- 
ducts are of the right type. 

We take pleasure, also, in publishing the essay of 
Miss L. M. Moll, of Illinois, which was awarded the 
second prize. We are glad to note that she has been 
explicit in describing the culture of some of the less 
generally grown varieties of salads and herbs which 
are valuable adjuncts to the table, and upon which 
My. Darlington has failed to treat. Some of the 
methods described in this essay are, however, unne- 
cessarily laborious. For instance, the wide bed of 
perennials, as described, would require considerable 
hand labor to keep the soil loose and free from weeds; 
while, if planted in long rows, horse cultivation 



editor's preface. vii 



would lessen this tedious work and would also loosen 
the ground to a greater depth. The varieties recom- 
mended by Miss Moll, while generally good, have in 
some cases been surpassed by improved varieties of 
more recent introduction. 

As presented in the following pages, the two essays 
will, we believe, make this book, for general use, the 
most complete and practical treatise on gardening 
published. Such has been our earnest endeavor, and 
we are confident that it will be recognized as a 
thoroughly trustworthy guide. With careful study 
of its teachings, the novice should be able to plant 
and successfully manage a Kitchen Garden, be it 
one acre, more or less, while we trust that experi- 
enced gardeners w411 find much to commend and 
will be able to gain some new ideas. 

W. Atlee Burpee. 

Philadelphia, December 16th, 1887. 



HOW AND WHAT TO GROW 

IN A KITCHEN GARDEN 

OF ONE ACEE. 



BY E. D. DAELINGTON. 



In order to treat this subject in detail, I shall first 
write on what the kitchen garden should be, where 
it should be, and how to keep it in the best order to 
produce the desired results, then take up " What to 
grow " and "How to grow it." 

SITUATION OF THE GARDEN. 

The garden should be situated conveniently near 
the farm buildings, as it should be visited frequently ; 
a variety of tools are needed in its care, and each 
should be put away as soon as done with, that it may 
be preserved in the best order for use. It is often 
necessary to carry water to help along young trans- 

9 



10 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

planted stock that has been overtaken by a dry spell. 
Where the distance has to be traversed so frequently, 
it naturally follows that the shorter it is the greater 
will be the saving in time and the less likely is the 
garden to be neglected. 

The garden should be as nearly level as possible, or, 
if sloping, not so much so as to be in danger of being 
washed by heavy rains. If sloping, the slope should 
lie to the south, or as nearly south as possible. A plan- 
tation or hedge of evergreens on the north side of the 
garden will be found a w^onderful aid to the earliness 
of the garden truck and to the hardiness of the small 
fruit plants and roots which remain in the ground 
all winter ; if a woods or high hill be directly on the 
north and northwest of your garden, it will answer 
nearly as well as the hedge of evergreens. The gar- 
den should be so situated as to have good surface 
drainage ; without this or expensive underdraining, 
it will hardly be possible to raise early or fine vege- 
tables at any profit. These I consider the most essen- 
tial points in selecting the plot for the garden; of 
course, a good, rich soil is to be desired, but the gar- 
dener can, by the liberal use of manure and thorough 
cultivation, remedy a deficiency of this kind in a 
couple of years, while he cannot make a favorable 
location for early vegetables on a north slope if he 
should try a lifetime. By a careful study of the 
varieties in cultivation, and by trials of their merits 
in your garden and on your table, experience will be 
gained which will enable you to grow as fine vegeta- 
bles and fruits on heavy soil as on light, sandy loam, 
and vice versa. 



OF ONE ACRE. 11 

THE SOIL OF THE GARDEN. 

Ground that has been worked in some cultivated 
farm crop, such as corn or potatoes, is more desir- 
able for starting a garden than fresh sod land, as it is 
more easily brought into fine condition in the early 
spring ; while grass is one of the hardest weeds to 
exterminate, especially among small hoed crops, such 
as strawberries, onions, beets, etc. Sod land is also 
often full of grubs, which work havoc among the 
strawberry plants and young melon and squash 
vines. In either new ground or in the old estab- 
lished garden, it will be of great advantage to put 
the long, coarse manure on the ground in the fall, 
and plow it well under as soon as the ground can be 
cleared of the summer crops. The soil should be 
left just as it is plowed, without harrowing, leaving 
the lumps and ridges to the action of the frost. This 
will be found of especial benefit to heavy soils that 
are late in drying in the spring; it also adds a great 
deal to the appearance and cleanliness of the garden, 
as the weeds, old stalks, etc., are all cut off and burnt 
before plovv^ing, instead of being left to scatter their 
seeds with every winter wind. 

The gases arising from the decaying of the coarse 
manure in the soil tend to lighten it, instead of being 
wasted in the air, as is the case when the manure is 
in heaps or in the barnyard. By plowing-time in 
the spring the manure will have assimilated with the 
soil and will be thoroughly worked through the cul- 
tivated surface, thus affording food for the crops in 
all stages. If such manure is applied in the spring, 
it will make dry or thin soil still drier, and unless 



12 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

plowed well under, where it would take the roots a 
long time to reach it, will burn the young plants 
up if the season should happen to be a dry one. 
The great value of compost in starting young plants 
is that it affords rich food in proper form for the 
tender young rootlets, enabling the young plants to 
make a quick, tender growth, which is very essential 
if vegetables of fine quality are desired. By fall 
manuring and plowing the whole garden is com- 
posted, while the action of the frost on the lumps and 
ridges pulverizes them, leaving the soil in a fine, 
friable condition. 



LAYINa OUT THE GARDEN. , 

It is most convenient to have the garden as nearly 
square as possible, which in our garden of one acre 
will be 208 x.208 feet. This makes the length of the 
rows a very good measure of the quantity to be 
grown, and affords as many rows to the ground as 
can be profitably v/orked, for it is desirable that the 
rows should be as nearly east and w^est as possible, 
and they should be the long way of the plot (if not 
a square), as it will result in great saving of time 
in planting and cultivating. Moving the line and 
drawing the cultivators out of one row and turning 
into the next, takes nearly as much time as the work- 
ing of the short row. 

In plowing, a good, wide headland should be left 
at each end of the garden ; it should be wide enough 
to allow the horse and cultivator to come clear out 
from between the rows and to turn into the next 



OF ONE ACRE. 13 

row, without damaging the plants at the ends of 
the rows by trampling and dragging the cultivator 
over them. 

In winter, while there is plenty of time before the 
spring opens, the summer campaign should be 
planned — what vegetables are to be raised and 
what quantity of each will be needed, in what part 
of the garden it will be best to plant each variety so 
that the pollen from different members of the same 
family, such as cucumbers and cantaloupes, will not 
mix and spoil each other's fine flavor. If the soil is 
of different quality in different parts of the garden, 
it should be planned so that the heavy and the lighter 
portions shall be occupied by such crops as will 
succeed best in the respective soils. 

Ease of cultivation and the rotation or succession 
of crops should also be considered. The small-grow- 
ing plants which require hand hoeing should be 
together, and likewise those which are to be worked 
with the horse cultivator. Where the ground is 
to bear two crops — one planted after the other has 
matured and been taken off — it will be of advantage 
to have such crops together, thus making larger plots 
for the replowing and a consequent saving of time 
and work. 

Beside these conditions in laying out a new gar- 
den, when it comes to the second or succeeding sea- 
sons, the crop or crops raised in the plot the year 
before must be taken into account. The situation of 
the crop of each particular vegetable should be 
moved to another part, as each draws certain propor- 
tions of the food elements from the soil, and those of 



14 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

a different character should occupy the ground in 
rotation, that the soil may be kept in the richest 
state. Thus the quality or size of the croj) will not 
be lessened by being planted in a situation that it 
has depleted, to some extent, of its own particular 
food the year before. Reference should also be had 
to the kind of food which the plant requires, as in 
the case of strawberries and potatoes, which should 
not succeed each other without special manures, as 
they both exhaust, to a great extent, the potash in 
the soil, so that the soil, haying borne a heavy crop 
of one, would of necessity make but a poor return of 
the other if planted in direct succession. If this can- 
not be overcome by a change of location, the gar- 
dener will know that the proper food elements have 
been depleted by the previous crop, and must try 
to supply them with special manure or commercial 
fertilizers. 

It is of great importance to rapid work and good 
gardening that all this should be arranged and 
settled in the gardener's mind, or better, plotted 
out on paper, before the first plowing is done in the 
spring. The plan being kept would be valuable in 
laying out the garden the succeeding year, as it would 
show just where each vegetable had been grown and 
where the different kinds of manure had been 
applied. If, in addition, the success of the various 
crops and notes of their growth were marked upon 
it, it would form a most valuable text-book for the 
study of improved gardening, each garden being an 
experimental station and each gardener a student 
in pursuit of knowledge and advancement in his 



OF ONE ACRE. 15 

work, feeding at the same time both physical and 
intellectual needs. 

DIAGRAM OF THE GARDEN. 

The accompanying plan may be of use to the 
novice in gardening on the scale suggested by our 
subject, as it is planned to admit of a proportionate 
quantity of such vegetables and fruits as are grown 
in the ordinary garden, while directions for planting 
and cultivating the various vegetables will be found 
in the special descriptions of the several varieties. 
(See p. 16.) 

PROCURING THE SEEDS AND PLANTS. 

Having the plan of work all- settled, the next thing 
is to know what is to be grown, the varieties of each 
that are best adapted to the situation and soil of the 
garden, and where they can be procured of the best 
quality. Under this head come the seeds needed for 
the vegetables and the roots, tips and runners for the 
plantings of small fruits. This should be done as 
soon as convenient, as I have found by experience it 
is a great saving to have the entire supply of seeds 
on hand a week or two before it is possible to begin 
planting. This is an important item, as I have some- 
times lost my crop from planting inferior seed pur- 
chased at the last moment from the commissioned 
seeds that are sold in the country stores. It does not 
pay to economize or try to garden with poor seeds ; 
it is a waste of time and labor in planting, and a 
waste of ground and manure, as the inferior vege- 



16 A KITCHEN GARDEN 



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208 SCALE 'AlNCH ^ FLET 



OF ONE ACRE. 17 

tables raised will hardly cover the original cost of the 
seed. The gardener who sells his products, unless 
his crops are of the best, will soon find his trade fall- 
ing off, and will be compelled to seek new customers 
each market day. Personally, I have found it more 
satisfactory and productive of better results to buy 

KEY TO DIAGRAM. 

Row No. 1. 25 grape vines, planted about 7i feet apVrt. The first three years 
these are trained to plain stakes or bean poles, the space in the rows 
between the vines being planted with strawberries, peas, beans or some 
other low-growing crop, to occupy the ground and insure good cultiva- 
tion. When the vines have made strong canes and have reached the tops 
of the poles, a post is set at each vine and a trellis made, as described 
in the chapter on grapes. This row is six feet distant from the north 
boundary line of the garden.. 

Rows No. 2. These rows are twelve feet distant from each other and from 
the row of grapes, and are planted with blackberry vines, at a distance 
of three feet in the rows. Though this may seem like a good deal of 
"elbow room," it is as close as they can be planted to keep them in good 
order; if planted closer they will form an impenetrable jungle by the 
end of the second season. 

Rows No. 3. These two rows are planted with red and black raspberries, the 
rows also twelve feet apart, but the plants set 2i feet apart in the rows. 

Row No. 4. This is planted with rhubarb, sage and thyme, currants and 
gooseberries, and is twelve feet distant from the rows on either side. 

Row No. 5. Is twelve feet from row No. 4, and is planted with asparagus, 
as described in tho special chapter on that vegetable. 

Rows No.6. These two rows are to be planted with spring-set strawberries for 
the next year's crop, and are four feet distant from the asparagus 
and from each other. The strawberries are intended to be grown on 
the matted row plan, and to be cultivated with the horse cultivator ; if 
they are to be grown in stools, another row can be planted between 
them, and the whole worked with the wheel or hand hoes. 

Row No. 7. This row is for watermelons or cantaloupes, and the line of hills 
is six feet distant from the row on either side. The space in the row 
between the hills can be planted with egg plants, cabbage, lettuce or 
such other plants as may be desired. 

Row No. 8. This row is a space four feet wide, with room for the cultivator on 
cither side ; this is raked fine and planted in four rows one foot apart, 
the first row containing beets and carrots; the second, onions; the 
2 



18 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

each season almost all the seeds needed from some 
reliable seedsman, rather than to depend on those of 
my own saving. For instance, such as peas, sweet 
corn and other vegetables, where the earlier the crop 
is ready to market the greater the profit; these ma- 
ture much earlier if the seed is procured from reli- 

third, lettuce, radishes, etc. ; the fourth, with a dozen plants of parsley, 
and the balance of the row in endive and parsnips. When the two 
middle rows have been cut out, the cultivator can be used to work the 
beets, parsnips, etc., in the outside rows. 

Row No. 9. This row is three feet distant from the parsnips, and is planted 
with early cauliflower and early cabbage, with two plants of lettuce 
between each of the other plants, which are set IJ feet apart. 

Rows No. 10. These are four rows of peas, different plantings, two kinds, 
early and medium, in each row, in equal quantities, rows three feet 
apart. These are to be pulled out as soon as the crop is gathered, and 
two rows of celery planted six feet apart. 

Rows No. 11. Here are four rows of early sweet corn, in four plantings of 
successive kinds, to be cleared off and followed by turnips, drilled in rows 
one foot apart, and worked with the wheel hoe ; or the seed may be 
broadcasted after a thorough cultivating, when the ears of corn are 
well set, without clearing the ground. This is not nearly so satisfac- 
tory a plan as to wait until the ground can be cleared and drilled. 
The rows of corn should be four feet apart. 

Rows No. 12. Two rows, 4i feet apart, of Lima beans, with the poles about 
2i feet apart in the row. 

Row No. 13. This row should have six feet clear on each side for the vines to 
run, and is to be planted with cucumbers and squashes. The space 
between the hills can be occupied with pepper plants or sweet corn. 

Rows No. 14. Two rows of tomatoes, four feet apart. 

Rows No. 15. Four rows of late sweet corn, four feet apart. 

Rows No. 16. Two rows of sweet potatoes, five feet apart and five feet from 
the corn and pole beans on either side. 

Row No. 17. One row of pole snap beans. About three kinds should be 
planted, that they may be had in succession. 

Rows No. 18. Five rows early potatoes, three feet apart, plowed in when the 
ground is plowed in the spring. When cultivated for the last time, 
plant a row of late cabbage between each row of potatoes ; when the 
latter are ripe, dig with a fork, clear the ground of vines and cultivate 
the cabbage thoroughly. 



OF ONE ACRE. 19 

able seedsmen who have their supplies grown in the 
North. Such northern grown seeds retain their 
instinct to hurry up and mature in a short season, 
while in one's own saving they begin even in the first 
year to grow more leisurely and to accommodate 
themselves to the longer season. In the case of peas, 
those grown in Northern New York and Canada, such 
as are sold by all our leading seedsmen, will mature 
from one to two weeks earlier than those ssived in 
our own neighborhood. The northern peas are also 
generally free from the weevil or striped bug, w^hich 
bores the large round hole in all the home-saved peas 
and destroys their germinating power. So it is with 
almost every known variety of vegetable ; each has 
some special locality in which it reaches a higher 
degree of perfection than in others less favorably 
situated. While, of course, these facts are of interest 
to the gardener, they are only learned after years of 
experience, and it is the seedsman's business to know 
the peculiarities of the different varieties, and to raise 
or procure his stock from the best strains grown in 
the most favorable localities. It is for the gardener to 
purchase from a seedsman whom he knows to be thor- 
oughly reliable, and whose interest it will be to serve 
him with prompt shipments and carefully- selected 
strains of the vegetables desired. All this is equally 

Rows No, 19. Swoetcorn planted between the rows of berry bushes; a large 
late variety will bo the best for this purpose. 

Rows No. 20. Two rows of fruiting strawberries, to be plowed under and be 
replaced by peas sown in August. This, of course, applies only to a 
garden of at least a year's standing; and the fruiting plants of straw- 
berries will come in a fresh place each year. The rows No. 6 being the 
bearing plants next season. 



20 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

true of the nurseryman or small-fruit grower from 
whom the supply of roots and plants is to be pur- 
chased. On no part of the farm is ^^ Pedigree Stock " 
of more importance than in the kitchen garden. I 
will speak further on of the saving of seeds, and refer 
now only to those which it is necessary to buy. First, 
it is often a saving of several days to have the seed 
on hand, as it is sometimes impossible to foretell just 
when you will need the seed to plant a certain plot, 
how soon the ground will be fit to work, or how soon 
will come the opportunity, in the press of other work ; 
if you have the seed at hand that part is always 
ready, and this is quite an item where the garden fre- 
quently has to be attended to in the intervals of farm 
work. Next, it is a cash saving to order all your 
seeds at one time. If, as is most frequently the case, 
you have to send to some large city for your supply, 
by procuring all that you need at one time, you have 
but one freight or express charge to pay. In making 
up your order, stick to the old varieties that you know 
suit your soil and your market ; all the more if your 
market is your own table, for the greatest pleasure in 
gardening is in testing the merits of your fruits and 
vegetables with the appetite engendered by their cul- 
ture. Also take into consideration the preferences of 
the household department as to the cooking merits 
of the different varieties. Do not experiment with 
your main crop of any vegetable, but do not neglect 
to try such new varieties as seem to possess merit, for 
the varieties are being continually improved by good 
culture and selection, as well as by hybridization or 
cross-breeding. To have a fine garden, the gardener 



OF ONE ACRE. 21 

must know the merits of all new and old varieties, 
and be as progressive as is the successful man in any- 
other line of business. I know of nothing so inter- 
esting as watching the growth and development of 
some new and improved variety that has been recom- 
mended to the gardening public in the most glowing 
terms, and often in glowing colors on a beautiful col- 
ored plate. Although I have been " taken in " fully 
as often as the average gardener of my experience, I 
have been many times repaid all trouble and outlay 
by the numerous successes that I have met with and 
the great improvement in some of the varieties 
grown. Sometimes I have made quite a nice little 
sum out of these novelties, when I have been able to 
sell the selected seed of the new variety to some other 
seedsman or to my neighbors. In these new varieties, 
more than in any others, do you need to order early, 
or, instead of the seed that you desire and which is 
to make reputation and money for you, " being some- 
thing superior to anything ever grown before," you 
may get one of those provoking little slips stating 
that the seedsman " regrets to inform you that, owing 
to the great demand, the supply is exhausted for this 
season, and hopes that the substituted kind will do 
as well." 

HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES. 

With a garden of this size I would have hotbeds, 
cold frames and rich seed beds of fine light soil ; 
these I would not have in the garden itself unless 
that be the most convenient place. Where there is 
time to attend to them, they will be a measure of 



22 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

economy, it being much cheaper to raise than to 
buy the plants, if you use more than a few dozens, 
while, if 3"0U have the time and room, quite a business 
can be done by supplying your neighbors who do 
not garden on such an extensive scale. It is best to 
locate the frames on the sunny side of a barnyard 
wall, or against a building that will shield them from 
the north wind and make a warm nook for them on 
sunshiny days. They should be situated conveniently 
near both to the manure pile and to a good supply of 
water, where they will constantly be under the eye 
in passing to and from the farm work and will not 
suffer neglect from being forgotten or overlooked. It 
is quite important that there should be good drainage 
from these beds, as they are most needed at a rainy 
time of the year; dampness is not only injurious to 
the young plants, but it also takes up a great deal of 
the heat which should go toward forwarding the 
growth of the young plants. The sashes can be 
bought, ready painted and glazed, at the planing 
mills in most cities, and this is much the cheapest 
way to procure them, as they can often be bought for 
what the bare sash would cost in a small order at a 
country shop. They come 3 J feet wide by 6 feet in 
length, and are 1 J to 2 inches in thickness, and if 
stored in the dry when not in use, and are treated to 
an occasional coat of paint, will last a lifetime. 

Three or four sash would be amply sufficient for a 
garden of an acre if used in succession, sowing one 
lot of seed as the preceding planting is set out in the 
garden ; though, of course, more sash can be handled 
without any great increase of labor, and the season 



OF ONE ACRE. 



23 



much advanced by growing radishes, lettuce, beets, 
etc., to maturity under the glass. 

In making the hotbed, dig a trench a few inches 
short of six feet in width, or as wide as the sashes 
will cover, about two feet in depth and as long as the 
combined width of the number of sashes which you 
wish to use. This is then to be boarded up with 
rough boards, but they should bo neatly joined and 
plastering laths or building paper tacked over the 




Illustration showing the manner of making the hotbed when sunk below the 
surface of the ground. 



cracks, so as not to waste the heat. The back or north 
side of this frame should be 6 or 8 inches higher 
than, the front, so that the rain may run off the sashes. 
The sashes held at an angle in this manner will also 
receive more sunlight for the front part of the bed 
than if front and back were level. The whole frame 
of the bed should be banked round with the dirt 
thrown out, or better with fresh stable manure, which 



24 



A KITCHEN GAEDEN 



will help to keep it warm and will make a bank to 
drain away any surface water, which, being very cold 
in the spring, would, if allowed to penetrate the bed, 
tend to chill the heat of the fermenting manure, and 
consequently check the growth of the young and 
tender plants, even if it did not generate that great 
enemy of all young plants, fungus or mildew, 
causing them to rot or " damp off." 




GROUND LEVEL 



Illustrationshowing the manner of constructiDg a hotbed above the surface of 
the ground. 



Or, if there is plenty of fresh stable manure at 
hand, it can be corded in a pile two feet high and 
extending a foot wider than the sash frame on all 
sides ; and when the frame has been put in position 
on the heap, the manure should be carried up on the 
outside nearly to the top of the boards, making a warm 
jacket for the plants, within. A portable frame of 
boards is made for the sash to rest on, twelve inches 



OF ONE ACEE. 25 

high at the back and eight inches in front. This 
style of bed does away with any digging and secures 
good drainage for the bed. It would probably be the 
most satisfactory way for the gardener, w^hb is also a 
farmer, as the bed can easily be removed as soon as 
it has served its purpose for the season, and the 
manure, which has become well rotted by this time 
will make an excellent compost for corn, melons, cel- 
ery, etc. The frame and sash can also be set on a 
good piece of ground in the fall and filled with young 
lettuce plants in the early part of October, which wdll 
furnish salad throughout the winter. 

The manure and litter which are to produce the 
heat for the bed should be thoroughly forked over 
and heaped together a week or ten days before the 
beds are to be started. While a large proportion of 
the material should be fresh horse stable manure, 
where a large quantity of heating material is needed, 
it can be mixed with any litter obtainable, such as 
straw, leaves from the woods, weeds, cut fodder, or 
anything that will furnish bulk and that will decay 
rapidly, and, by decaying, produce heat; when the 
material has all been gathered and heaped solidly 
together, a good sprinkling with water, hot, if possi- 
ble, will aid in starting the fermentation. In about 
a week or two, when the heat of the heap has gone 
down to 95° or 100°, the manure should be placed 
in the beds and w^ell trampled down ; it should come 
up to within eight inches of the front of the frame 
and should be covered with about three and a half 
or four inches of fine, rich soil. It is a good plan to 



26 A J&ITCHEN GARDEN 

sift the dirt through a coal sieve, as it then makes a 
fine bed for the seeds and young plants. 

Place the sashes on as soon as this is done ; hand- 
ling the manure and repacking it will produce some 
fresh heat and it will still be too warm to sow any 
seed, but the heat will destroy such weed seeds as may 
be in the soil, and the steam and gases arising from 
the manure will tend to put the soil in the finest 
possible condition for forwarding the growth of the 
young plants. A thermometer should be placed in 
the soil of the bed every day or two, to see if the 
temperature has fallen sufficiently to admit of sow- 
ing the seeds. As soon as the temperature has fallen 
to about 75° ; or, if no thermometer is at hand, as 
soon as the top sod is only perceptibly warm to the 
palm of the hand, the bed should be sprinkled, and 
as soon as this has dried off a little, rake it up thor- 
oughly and sow the seed. The seed will produce 
finer and stockier plants if sown in drills about six 
inches apart, which will admit light and air to the 
roots of the plants, and will j)ermit a weekly hoeing. 
In planting seeds, the depth of their covering should 
be about five times the diameter of the seed, and 
this covering should be firmly packed around them, 
after planting. The starting and planting of these 
beds must be calculated, so as to have the plants 
ready to set out as soon as the garden can be worked. 
In this vicinity (Philadelphia) the first sowing of 
cauliflowers, lettuce, beets and early cabbage should 
be made about February 15th, or even earlier, 
depending on the forwardness of the season or of 



OF ONE ACRE. 27 

your own particular garden. The plants will then 
be of a suitable size for transplanting by the time the 
early part of the garden has been plowed. If the 
sashes are covered with old carpets or straw on cold 
nights, it w^ill be a great saving of the heating power 
of the manure and w411 prevent the young plants 
from being chilled. The young plants should be 
treated to fresh air whenever the outside temperature 
is not too cold, that they may not become " drawn," 
or " spindle up " into long, slim stems. As planting- 
out time approaches, the young plants should be left 
uncovered as frequently as is safe, that they may 
become sufficiently hardy not to miss the covering 
when removed to the open ground. 

Tomatoes, peppers and egg plants and a second 
sowing of early cabbage should be sown in the same 
manner about the middle of March. If a few extra 
early plants are wanted, they can be transplanted 
into the earliest beds when the cabbage and other 
plants have been set out in the garden, and the sash 
again put on. If some sweet potatoes are buried 
about two inches deep in the dirt of one of the cab- 
bage frames, and kept warm, they will produce a fine 
lot of sprouts, or, as they are called, " sets," which 
can be broken off and planted in the garden when 
the weather has become sufficiently warm. If a 
number are wanted, or there is danger of their grow- 
ing too large, they can be taken off and " heeled in " 
in another sash until planting time, and the potatoes 
put back again, as they will produce two or three 
crops of the sets. Or a hill of cucumbers can be 
planted in the centre of each sash as a second crop, 



28 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

and by the time it would be warm enough to leave 
them uncovered, these will have filled up the frame 
with bearing vines, gaining at least a month on 
those planted in the open ground. 

While the cabbage, cauliflower, beets and lettuce 
may be planted out as soon as all danger of frost is 
over, the tomatoes, peppers, egg plants, etc., should 
not be set out until the thermometer stands at over 
60° all night, or until the oak leaves are as large as 
a five-cent piece. In a small hotbed it is best to 
have a partition between each sash and the one next 
to it, so that such as are tender varieties may be kept 
warm and the more hardy cabbage may have plenty 
of fresh air, for if the latter should become " drawn," 
all the advantages of an early start will be lost and 
the plants may become entirely worthless. 

Sowings of seeds for early plants may be made in 
the same manner as above described for hotbeds, in 
cold frames, which are the same without the arti- 
ficial heat germinated by fermenting manure, depend- 
ing solely on the heat of the sun and the protection 
of the sash to forward the plants. They can be 
planted about two weeks later than the dates given 
for the respective vegetables in hotbeds, and the 
plants will be ready for setting out about the same 
length of time later than those raised with the arti- 
ficial heat. These frames can also be used for win- 
tering over a few fall-sown cabbage plants, which are 
useful in a very early season and can be kept full of 
parsley, lettuce, etc., making a pleasant variety of 
greens for the table during the winter. 

As soon as it is warm enough to dig them and 



OF ONE ACRE. 29 

bring them into fine order, seed beds should be made 
in a sheltered spot of the garden, for the sowings of 
late cabbage and celery, which will be spoken of in 
detail under the special directions for growing these 
vegetables. 

TOOLS. 

Although not positively necessary, it is of great 
advantage to have a variety of tools for thoroughly 
working the soil and to facilitate the labor of plant- 
ing and harvesting the crops, and exterminating 
weeds. If, however, the garden is as well cultivated 
as it should be, there will be no chance for weeds to 
start, as they will all be destroyed in their earliest 
stages. 

While there is a general assortment of tools on 
every farm suitable for use in the garden, I will 
give a short list of some especially adapted for use 
in the kitchen garden and the modes and purposes 
of using them. 

First is the Plow. For the first plowing in the 
spring, and for the general plowing in the fall, I use 
a large two-horse plow, which takes a generous slice 
and will put the manure down as may be wished 
and return the enriched soil to the surface in the 
spring, again turning in another coat of manure, if it 
is to be had in sufficient quantities to do so. So long 
as the fresh manure does not come in direct contact 
with the young plants, I do not think it is possible 
to put in too much, at least in the first three years 
of the garden. In my soil, which is rather heavy, I 
plow six to eight inches deep ; in light soil I would 



30 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

plow deeper, as the roots penetrate it much more rap- 
idly. For working among the strawberries and per- 
manent rows of small fruits, I use a light one-horse 
plow, with a swingle tree just wide enough to permit 
the horse to move freely ; this plow is also used in 
plowing out the potatoes" and in preparing the 
ground for a second crop. If the share is kept sharp, 
as it always should be, it will be found very useful 
in the cultivation of the berries, melons, etc., as with 
a good plowman it will go deep or shallow, or will 
slip around some point to be missed much easier 
than the cultivator. 

When these plows are not in use I give the mould- 
board and all bright parts a coat of thick whitewash ; 
this keeps them from rusting, so that plowing a 
single round leaves them bright and shining. A coat 
of this on all bright tools, spades, hoes, etc., in the 
fall, will keep them in the best order through the 
winter, so that no time will be lost getting them into 
good working condition in the spring. 

A good companion to the light plow is a one-horse 
Harrow, of a V shape, with long, slender teeth. It is 
a splendid tool for making a good, deep bed of fine 
earth for seed sowing or setting out small plants. 
Where more land has been plowed than is needed 
for immediate planting, I run over it with this 
implement when working the balance of the garden, 
so keeping it clear of weeds and in fine condition for 
planting. It is especially convenient to have the 
ground in this shape for planting cabbage, celery, 
tomatoes, etc., as you can take advantage of a good 
shower to set them out while the ground is thoroughly 



OF ONE ACRE. 31 

wet. My plan is to commence planting when the 
rain begins, the fresh plants having the full benefit 
of the shower. 

The Roller and the Harrow generally go in suc- 
cession, and a light one-horse roller will be found 
very convenient, but the large farm roller will do 
equally good work where one is at hand and there 
is room for it to be used. A small hand roller, about 
three feet in width, for rolling in small drilled seeds, 
such as beets, onions, turnips, etc., and by which the 
dirt can be settled over a row of peas or corn when 
only a few rows are planted at once, will many times 
repay the labor of making it. A piece of six- or 
eight-inch drain pipe, with the bell knocked oflP, an 
iron bar run through the centre for an axle, and the 
whole inside filled with mortar or concrete and 
allowed to get perfectly hard, will make as fine a 
hand roller as need be, or one can very easily be 
made from a smooth section of a tree trunk. This 
implement would probably be much more useful 
than the one-horse roller. It always pays to roll 
ground every time it is plowed, and too much stress 
cannot be laid on the value of firmly compacting 
the soil around freshly sown seed. 

The Cultivator is the most important and iaost 
frequently used tool in the garden, and should be of 
the best make obtainable. I consider the Iron Age 
or Planet, Jr., the best, they having a light iron 
frame w^hich is very strong without being clumsy ; 
the spreading bars close inward, so that they do not 
catch or interfere with the plants in narrow rows, 
and admit of working rows not more than two feet 



32 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

apart, so that the ground can be cropped to its full 
capacity. They have a variety of adjustable and 
reversible teeth, including plow, shovel and cutting 
teeth, which will throw the soil to or from the row, 
or leave it loose and level ; in light soil this cultivator 
will loosen and let in the air seven or eight inches 
deep. These adjustable teeth are all sharpened at 
each end so that they can be turned around, so sav- 
ing the number of times that they will need grind- 
ing, as both ends can be used and one grinding 
suffice where it would take two in the ordinary style 
of teeth. When worn out, the whole set can be taken 
off and new ones purchased at a very moderate cost. 
This part of the implement should be well watched 
and the teeth kept in good cutting condition, as it 
will not only kill the weeds a great deal more thor- 
oughly when sharp, but will also be much lighter of 
draft. 

Next to the cultivator comes the Wheel Hoe or 
hand cultivator. By the use of this implement, roots 
and small growing vegetables, such as onions, beets, 
parsnips, lettuce, radishes, parsley, etc., may be 
planted and thoroughly worked in rows from six to 
twenty-four inches apart ; thus more than doubling 
the amount that can be raised by horse cultivation. 
A good implement will not throw dirt over the small 
plants as the larger cultivatior does, so that the rows 
can be worked closely enough to avoid having to be 
gone over with the hand hoe after the thinning out 
has been done. In my experience, I have found that 
a man can hoe more ground and do it twice as deep 
and well in one hour with one of these implements 



OF ONE ACRE. 33 

than he could do in a day with the old style hand 
hoe. There are numerous styles of wheel hoes on 
the market, but the only good one that I have ever 
seen is " Lee's Wheel Hoe," which is made in Phila- 
delphia under the patent of the inventor, who is 
himself a prominent trucker. It is strong, light and 
well built ; it has five sharp, finger-shaped teeth back 
of the wdieel, which loosen and pulverize the soil, and 
a broad hoe blade behind, which travels beneath the 
surface, turning the soil over and cutting off under 
ground any weeds which may be in its track. When 
the soil is in good order, it leaves it as smooth and 
fine as would a steel rake. To obtain the best results 
with this tool or with the cultivator, you should go 
through each row three or four times, so as to pul- 
verize and work over the soil thoroughly. The hoe 
blades are of different widths, for working rows of 
different widths, a set of three going with each imple- 
.ment. These hoes can easily be sharpened by any 
blacksmith. Keep them well sharpened, and it will 
be surprising to note how much less muscle it takes 
to push them and how much better the work is done. 
I have tried several different makes, as I work an 
acre or more each year with one of these hoes and a 
" Fire-fly " hand plow, which is run before the wheel 
hoe when the ground is very hard, and Lee's is the 
only one that works satisfactorily. When the ground 
is in the best condition a man can hoe the acre in a 
single day, so that it will readily be seen what a 
labor saver it is. 

The Fire-fly Hand Plow just spoken of is a very 
convenient tool for making drills, and will plow out 
3 



34 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

a furrow from one to four inches deep, for sowing 
peas, corn, beans, etc., and coming back alongside of 
the open furrow will cover them nicely, not taking 
one-quarter of the time necessary to make the drill 
with a hoe and cover with a rake, as it is ordinarily 
done. It is also very handy to strike out a furrow 
in this way when planting strawberries, cabbages, 
tomatoes, etc., especially where two are employed on 
the same work, as one can strike out the furrows, and 
drop a plant where each one is to stand, while the 
other, following, sets the plant with one hand and with 
the other pulls in and places the loose covering dirt, 
and finally tramps the soil firmly round the new-set 
plants with his feet. These two last-mentioned tools 
are very useful in the ordinary small garden ; they 
enable the work to be done much more quickly and 
very much more thoroughly than is often the case, 
the spring spading being generally the only good 
stirring the soil gets in the season. 

A Seed DRiUi is a very handy tool, but it is quite 
expensive. In the kitchen garden there is seldom 
more than one or two rows across the garden to be 
sown with any one kind of seed, and this can be done 
almost in the time it would take to adjust the drill, 
although the drill works a great deal more evenly 
than the seed can be sown by hand. On a farm 
where root crops are raised for soiling, the drill will 
be a measure of economy, even for a single season, 
and can readily be used in the garden. The combined 
implements, with plowing and hoeing attachments, 
are "a delusion and a snare;" if you want a tool 
that will do good work, and will not get out of order 



OF ONE ACRE. 35 

or break, do not have it " combined " Avith anything 
else. 

Of Hand-hoes, Steel Kakes, Trowels, Spades, 
Shovels, etc., there should be enough to furnish each 
man employed, as it is frequently desirable to have 
all hands working on the same job. Of these, the 
hoes, spades and trowels should have an intimate 
and frequent calling acquaintance with the grind- 
stone. It is much easier to work with a sharp hoe or 
spade, and the work is much better when done. 

There should be a good stout cotton Line, long 
enough to reach across the garden, and a reel to keep 
it on is a great convenience, as it takes such a short 
time to wind it up that there is not the same tempta- 
tion to leave it out all night. A good cotton line, 
carefully housed, will last for years, and is one of the 
most important requisites in the garden. Neatness 
is one of the essentials of good gardening, and I have 
never known a gardener successful who was " hit or 
miss" in laying out his rows ; every plant must be 
squarely in the row to admit of close working with 
the cultivator. If it is necessary to keep a few inches 
away from the row to avoid cutting the stragglers, 
either the soil is not loosened around the plant as 
it should be, or it has to be gone over with the 
hand hoe, which consumes time in a large garden. 



PLANTING THE GARDEN. 

It is common in most gardens to plant black- 
berries, raspberries, currants, etc., around the fences. 
This is not only a waste of half the fruit, as it can 



36 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

only be borne on one side, but involves much need- 
less labor in keeping the plants trimmed and worked, 
and unless hoed frequently the plot becomes a harbor 
for weeds. The only advantage in so planting is the 
protection the fence affords in winter, as it catches the 
flying leaves and weeds in the fall, and these with 
the shade afforded by the fence and drifted snow make 
a natural protection for the roots and canes. It is 
not the scA^erity of the frost which determines the 
hardiness of a plant, so much as its ability to with- 
stand freezing and thawing in rapid succession. For 
this reason I would have the small fruits planted at 
the north side of the garden, especially if it be the 
highest part, and if there is some kind of wind-break 
or protection, as this will cause the snow to drift and 
lie longer, making a natural covering, while the slope 
will drain the surface water quickly away, so that it 
does not form hard ice around the crowns. 

If it were possible, I would prefer to have iio fence 
around the garden, as it makes it much easier to keep 
clean. A fence is always a nuisance and waste of 
ground unless absolutely necessary ; but if a fence is 
needed, have one that will not only keep out stock, 
but also the gardener's most aggravating enemy, the 
poultry. A scratching hen seems to have an instinct 
which tells her as soon as the seed has been planted, 
and which are the hills containing the choicest va- 
rieties. 

In plowing the ground in the early spring, I think 
it is best not to plow more than is needed for the first 
planting, and to plow the remainder somewhat later, 
when it has become more dry and friable, as it will 



OF ONE ACRE. • 37 

not then become packed and hard again by the heavy 
spring rains. For the first planting the ground should 
be plowed and planted as soon as it can be got in 
order ; the hardier vegetables will even stand a light 
frost, and while adapting their growth to the weather, 
will be ready to take advantage of the first warm 
spring days. I shall speak of the time of planting and 
sowing in the chapters devoted to the separate treat- 
ment of the different vegetables. 

The following simple test will be of use to the 
novice in determining not only when to plow, but also 
when to cultivate and hoe the ground. Take a por- 
tion of the soil in the hand and try to press it into a 
ball ; if it makes a ball and sticks to the hand it is 
too wet, while if it crushes hard it is too dry. In both 
cases, if worked in this condition, it will be left in a 
hard and lumpy state, that will take a long time to 
bring into good order. To be in good working con- 
dition the soil should crumble easily and finely in 
the hand, and should leave no dirt adhering to the 
fingers. It will not only give the best results when 
worked in this state, but it can also be done in half 
lithe time. Sometimes w^e cannot wait until the 
I ground is in the very best order, as in a drought in 
! summer, w^hen it is needed for the second crop. In 
I such a case it must be brought into as fine condition 
as possible by repeated harrowing and rolling ; the 
' latter is an operation too frequently neglected in the 
ordinary garden ; every farmer knows the value of 
having the soil firmly compacted round the fresh- 
sown grain, and it is of equal value in every variety 
!of seed sown in the garden. Where there is not 



38 • A KITCHEN GARDEN 

room for the roller to be used after sowing a row, 
I always have it pressed in by the broad sole of the 
gardener's boot, which nature usually provides shall 
be of generous size. It is even more important 
that the soil should be firmly pressed around the 
roots of newly-set plants, as if this is not done the 
first heavy rain uses the roots as water courses, and 
deprived of contact with the soil, the roots rot off and 
the plants are stunted or die. 

Among the first things to be planted in the spring 
are the small fruits, such as grapes, blackberries, rasp- 
berries, currants, strawberries, etc. These should all 
be in the kitchen garden, and with them the rhu- 
barb and asparagus beds, where they can and will be 
cultivated as well as the vegetables, the soil kept loose 
and free from weeds, that they may devote their ener- 
gies to making strong canes and bearing fine fruit, 
instead of wasting their strength in a continuous 
battle for life wdth grass and weeds, leaving Ihem an 
easy prey to insects and disease. Those who have 
never given them this thorough cultivation will be 
surprised at the large crops and superior quality of 
the fruit that can be raised under these favorable 
circumstances. These fruits, when once planted, wdtli 
the exception of strawberries, last for many years if 
well manured, trimmed and cultivated. They should 
all be at one side of the garden, where they will not 
be in the way of working the garden wdth the large 
plow in the spring and fall, but should have their own 
plowing with the small plow, two to four inches in 
de[)th, spring and fall. In the fall plowing the fur- 
rows should be turned toward the row, which will 



OF ONE ACRE. 39 

bank them up slightly and afford additional protec- 
tion through the winter. In the spring this ridge 
can be worked down level again with the plow and 
cultivator, the dirt from around the crowns being 
drawn away with an ordinary hand hoe. 

In planting the rows in the spring, the width of 
the cultivator and swingle tree must be taken into 
account. If the ground has been heavily manured 
the vegetables can be planted as closely as will admit 
of working, and allowing a good supply of light and 
air to the roots, excepting melons and other vines, 
which should have plenty of room in which to spread 
and sun themselves. Thus, peas, beets, bush beans, 
etc., can be sowed as closely as two and one-half feet 
apart, while corn, pole beans, etc., which grow as high 
as the horse's sides and the cultivator handles, should 
have the rows four or four and one-half feet apart, 
not only to allow of working but to admit of the 
sunshine and air penetrating to the roots. 



40 A KITCHEN GARDEN 



WHAT TO GROW, 



ASPAKAGUS. 

This is the earliest vegetable to be ready for use in 
the spring, excepting those that have been forv^^arded 
under glass. While it is quite hardy and withstands 
much ill treatment, nothing will better repay careful 
culture and generous feeding. One row across the 
kitchen garden would make a liberal supply for an 
average family. The seed should be sown where the 
row is to stand, and the young plants thinned out 
until they stand one foot apart in the row. This 
should be done as soon as they are three or four 
inches high and well started ; if left longer it will be 
a very troublesome job. These young plants should 
have every encouragement of manure and cultiva- 
tion, to make as strong a growth as possible; the 
stronger and faster they grow the better will be the 
size and quality of the shoots when old enough to. 
cut. No shoots should be cut until the third spring 
after sowing, and then should not be cut too long the 
first season. The fourth and succeeding seasons it 
may be cut from the time the first shoots appear 
until the first peas and lettuce are ready to take its 
place on the table. Then it should be well worked 
and allowed to attain its full growth, that strength 



OF ONE ACRE. 41 

may be stored in the crowns to furnish tlie shoots for 
the next season's cutting. As soon as the tops begin 
to yellow, and the berries to ripen in the fall, it should 
be mowed off close to the ground and the tops burnt, 
taking care that all the seeds are consumed ; if left 
on the plants all winter the seed becomes scattered, 
and, owing to its capacity for sending up shoots, it is 
a very difficult weed to exterminate. If you do not 
wish the labor of sowing the seed and tending the 
young plants, a year can be gained by purchasing the 
plants. The one-year old plants are preferable unless 
the older ones have been transplanted each year, as 
they are gross feeders, and become stunted if allowed 
to crowd each other while young. To produce the 
large, fat shoots, it is necessary that the seed shall have 
been saved from the strongest shoots obtainable, and 
the plants fed constantly. The best way is to cover 
the crowns, after the ground is frozen in the fall, with 
as much manure as can be spared, and work it down 
to the roots in the spring as soon as it can be forked 
in; or, if there are several rows, the manure could be 
placed on them thickly and the soil ridged over it for 
the winter by throwing up a couple of shallow fur- 
rows with the plow ; this to be v/orked down with a 
sharp harrow in the spring. As soon as it is dry 
enough in the spring, the soil and manure of the bed 
should be lightly forked over with a manure fork 
and the surface raked fine ; the reason for using the 
stable fork is that the tines are slightly curved, and 
if the handle is held in a nearly horizontal position 
the bed can be dug down to the roots, and the fork 
will, slide right over the tops of the crowns without 



42 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

injuring them. Where more than one row is de- 
sired they should be j)lanted about three feet apart, 
to admit of cultivation and free access to the beds 
for cutting. An advantage in sowing the seed is 
that the crowns are naturally established at a 
proper depth. In planting the crowns obtained from 
the nurseryman they should be set at a depth of 
three or four inches at the most ; not one foot under 
the surface, as is the common practice of truckers. 
Market gardeners cut the shoots as soon as the tips 
appear above the surface, so that their shoots are 
blanched for their whole length; but they do this at 
the expense of the table quality, as only the tips are 
edible in this way, and even these taste very much 
like old hay to any one who has been accustomed to 
the richness and delicate flavor of shoots cut at the 
surface when they are from three to four inches in 
height ; this method has also the advantage of not 
destroying the young shoots just coming up, as the 
stalks are only cut an inch or so underground, and 
the knife only reaches the one intended to be cut. 
If the appearance of the blanched asparagus is de- 
sired, it can be much better obtained (that is, with less 
sacrifice of quality) by placing four or five inches of 
hay, straw or other litter over the crowns, which can 
be pushed away from the stalk when cutting and 
easily replaced. There is another strong reason for 
not following the deep planting, as usually practiced, 
and that is, in having your crowns so much nearer 
the surface they feel the warming and growing influ- 
ence of the sun sooner in the season, and you are able 



OF O^'E ACRE. 43 

to have your asparagus for cutting a full week earlier 
than your neighbor who plants deep. 

VARIETIES OF ASPARAGUS. 

As mentioned above, this succulent is capable of 
great improvement by careful selection of seed from 
the best stalks. The old Purple Top variety is no 
longer grown, its place having been taken by the 
larger shoots and better quality of the variety known 
as Conover's Colossal. This latter, however, has been 
propagated so extensively and with so little care that 
it is now almost impossible to obtain seed or plants 
that will produce the splendid shoots of the original 
stock. Of the new varieties Barr's Mammoth seems 
to be the most promising, and as grown in some fields 
in the vicinity of Philadelphia produces shoots which 
will average nearly an inch in diameter. 

BEANS. 

The first planting of snaps or dwarf bush beans 
can be made when the first planting of peas and 
beets are sown, but will not do as well nor produce 
beans of as fine quality as those planted about two 
weeks later, when the weather has become warmer 
and more settled. These yield very abundantly, and 
a drill fifty feet long will produce as many as can be 
used in a large family. While planting in a drill, 
for the sake of convenience and quickness in plant- 
ing, the seed should be -dropped in hills about ten 
inches apart and five seeds to a hill. If the beans 
are kept picked closely, the plants will continue longer 



44 A KITCHEN GAKDEN 

in bearing, and they may be had throughout the 
season if successive plantings are made, though the 
pole snaps are to be preferred through the summer 
and fall, for their greater bearing qualities and the 
ease of gathering them. In both the bush and pole 
snaps, care should be taken to secure varieties that are 
entirely stringless, as they are not only much easier 
to prepare for use, but are much more tender. The 
different " Wax " varieties are very fine, but the bush 
beans of this class have not done well in this locality 
for the last three seasons, the pods being covered with 
a species of black spot or rot that spoils fully two- 
thirds of them.* 

The pole beans should not be planted until the 
ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, or until 
the thermometer stands over 60° all night. It is 
quite common to plant these with poles 8 to 9 feet in 
height. I think this is a mistake, as no ordinary 
picker can reach higher than about six feet to advan- 
tage, and as the vines grow to the tops of the poles 
before commencing to fruit, both beans and time are 
lost. The poles should be set in rows four and one- 
half feet apart and two and one-half to three feet apart 
in the rows. Two hundred poles of Limas will fur- 
nish an ample supply throughout the season, and will . 
ripen a bushel of dried beans for winter use as well. 
Twenty-five poles will furnish an ample supply of 



* Miss Moll says that this rusting can Joe prevented by only hoeing the 
beans -when the soil is dry. Wc would also particularly recommend Bur- 
pee a Pi.rfcction Wax, a lino new variety, that has so far proved free from 
rust. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 45 

snaps, though we allowed one row across the garden 
in the diagram given, the surplus being allowed to 
ripen for winter use. Where the saving of room is 
an object and the ground has been well manured, 
these pole snaps can be planted in the hills of corn, 
and allowed to use the stalks as poles; they will 
produce a good crop, but not nearly so many, nor are 
they as easy to pick as when grown on the poles. 
For this purpose they should be planted with some 
strong growing variety of corn, such as Stowell's Ever- 
green or other late variety. 

The white soup bean, that is dried for winter use 
in various ways, including the famous " Boston Baked 
Beans," is generally grown by dropping one or two 
hills between each hill of corn, and instead of pick- 
ing them, the whole plant is pulled up in the fall, 
and the beans thrashed out with a flail when dry. 
For Limas and pole snaps, the poles should be set 
by the aid of the garden line, and where any pole is 
bowed or crooked it should be planted so as to bring 
it in line with the row, lengthwise, as nearly as pos- 
sible, that they may present an orderly appearance. 
In setting the poles, make a hole from one to two feet 
deep by driving the sharp end of a crowbar into the 
ground, place the butt end of the pole in this hole 
and ram it firmly in its place ; then put one or two 
shovelfuls of compost around the base of the pole, 
and with a sharp steel rake make a hill of fine dirt 
over the compost. Five or six beans should be 
planted to each hill, but if all grow should be thinned 
out to two or three. If the young plants do not climb 
the poles readily at the first start, they should be 



46 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

trained up and tied till they begin to take hold for 
themselves. Be careful, in planting Lima beans, to 
push them into the soil with the eye down, for, as the 
first leaves are quite large and heavy, it assists them 
materially in breaking through the soil to plant them 
in this manner.* 

The Limas may be brought into bearing somewhat 
earlier in the season by placing pieces of sod, cut four 
inches square and about three inches thick, grass side 
down, in the hotbed, and planting four or five beans in 
each piece ; if this is done in the latter part of March 
they will be of good size by the time it is warm 
enough to plant them out, which is done by plant- 
ing the piece of sod at the base of the pole, in hills, 
as prepared for the seed. If the end of the vine is 
pinched off when it is about four or five feet up the 
pole, it will assist the lateral shoots in blooming early, 
and consequently produce beans earlier, though, like 
all forcing methods, it will, to some extent, lessen the 
vigor of the vine, and most likely, to some extent, 
the amount of the crop. 

Bush Beans— Golden Wax. — This is one of the 
best bush beans; it matures early; the pods are 
of very handsome appearance, brittle and entirely 
stringless ; it is a good bearer and makes an excel- 
lent shelled bean for winter use. 

Best of All Dwarf Bean. — This is a green -podded 
bean, and is probably the best for the first planting, 
as it is not only very early but also very productive ; 



* See the method of covering the seed of Lima beans described by 
Miss L. M. Moll, and our note on the same. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



47 




CHAMPION BUSH BEAN. 



48 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the pods are six inches long, entirely stringless, very 
fleshy and rich flavored.' 

Champion Bush Bean. — This is a strong grower, at- 
taining about fifteen to eighteen inches in height, and 
an immense cropper. The beans can be used as string 
beans in the green state, but its chief quality lies in 
the superiority of the beans when dried, and the 
large crops which it produces w^hen grown for winter 
use. 

Pole Beans, Snap Varieties — Golden Wax Flage- 
olet. — This bean is of recent introduction, and is 
worthy of all the praise that has been bestowed upon 
it ; it is a tremendous bearer, and is almost as early 
as the dwarf wax varieties, the pods are much larger, 
being seven to eight inches long, round and very 
fleshy; they are entirely free from strings and of the 
finest quality. Unlike the other pole beans, it begins 
to produce beans at the bottom of the pole as soon 
as it starts to climb ; and if these are used as 
they mature, it will continue in bearing the entire 
season.* 

Wiite Oreaseback, or Best of All. — These for early 
and the Lazy Wife^s for late are the best of the green- 
podded pole beans. The pods are about six inches 
in length, thick fleshed, and of very fine qualit}^ 
The Creaseback is very early and matures its crop 
in a short time, thus making it a very profitable 



* Wc would also particularly recommend Bnrjyee's White Zulu, a new- 
variety of 1888. It is one of the earliest of pole beans, immensely pro- 
ductive, and the broad, handsome, white pods, eight to ten inches long, 
are of the choicest quality. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



49 




LAZY WIPE'S POLE BEAN. 



50 A KITCHEN GAEDEN 

variety for market. Both varieties are very pro- 
ductive, entirely stringless, and of superior flavor. 

LiMAS — Extra Early Lima. — This variety matures 
very nearly as early as the Small Lima, while the 
beans are more nearly the size of the late Lima ; the 
quality is very fine and the quantity large, as it 
bears the pods in clusters of four, with four to six 
beans in a pod. 

Dreer^s Improved Lima. — This variety is early and 
very productive if measured in the green state ; the 
pods are smaller than in the ordinary Lima, but the 
beans are very plump, and are so close together in 
the pods as to crowd against each other. As a green 
bean it is very early, and shells out more quarts to 
the basket of pods than the larger varieties ; but the 
quality is not as fin^ and in the dry state the beans 
shrivel up till they are only about the size of dry 
bush beans, and are not nearly so good as the other 
varieties. 

King of the Garden. — This is a new variety, in 
which the green beans are of unusual size and very 
fine quality. I have seen half an acre planted with 
this variety which I am sure had at that time more 
than twice the quantity of beans that could be grown 
on the same ground of the ordinary kinds; vines 
were loaded with clusters of pods seven to eight 
inches in length, and it was no rarity to see them 
with five very large beans in a pod. From its great 
productiveness and the fine quality of the beans, it 
deserves the first place among the Limas. 



OF ONE ACRE. 51 

BEETS. 

Seed of these should be sown when the first plant- 
ing is done in the spring. They may be had still 
earlier by planting the seed in a hotbed while the 
ground is still frozen, and transplanting them to the 
garden a week or so after the cabbage and lettuce 
have been planted out. Care must be taken in trans- 
planting the young beets, that the tap-root does not 
get broken, or it wdll make a number of fibrous roots 
instead of the large, smooth globe desired for the 
table. When the seed is w^ell up, the plants should 
be thinned out until they stand six or ten inches 
apart, as the size of the variety demands. A second 
sowing should be made about June 1st, and the main 
sowing about the 15th of July or 1st of August, to 
raise roots for winter use. These frequent sowings 
are necessary to have the beets of fine quality ; as the 
roots get older and larger they become " woody," or 
hard and fibrous, and exceedingly tasteless. Where 
the season is short, or there are prospects of a dry 
fall, the second sowing should be large enough to 
produce the winter crop, as the later one may fail 
to mature in time. The beets maybe stored and the 
flavor retained by the method described for pitting 
turnips, and will keep in good order until spring. 

The Bassano and other light beets are of quick 
growth and are tender and palatable while young, 
but are of coarse texture and not nearly so fine in 
appearance when cooked as the blood beets. The 
blood beets retain their deep, rich color, while all the 
light-leaved or light-stemmed varieties are colorless, 
or nearly so, when cooked. It certainly adds to the 



52 A KITCHEX GARDEN 

attractiveness of a dish for the vegetable to have a 
handsome appearance when cooked. 

The seed should be sown in drills, from twelve to 
eighteen inches apart, if to be worked with the wheel 
hoe; if for horse culture, two and a half to three feet 
will have to be allowed between the rows. The 
ground should be raked clear of clods and made as 
fine as possible. A drill is made by drawing the rake 
or hoe handle along the line. The drill should be 
about an inch in depth and the seed should be 
dropped about two inches apart, thinning out to six 
or eight inches apart when well started, and if it is 
desired, the thinnings can be transplanted to another 
row. If no small roller is at hand, the drill can be 
covered and packed by the same operation, by remov- 
ing the line and shuffling along the row with the 
feet placed in a V, the forepart of the foot drawing in 
the fine soil while the heels at the point cover and 
press the dirt down upon the row ; the foot, of course, 
is only moved a few inches at a time, but with a little 
practice the rows can be covered in this manner 
quite rapidly. 

VARIETIES OP BEETS. 

Eclipse. — This is a very early beet, of quick growth 
and very fine quality. As the leaves of this variety 
are small and the stems short, they can be grown 
quite closely together. The roots are perfectly smooth, 
regular, globe shape, blood-red skin and flesh, fine 
grained and very sweet when cooked. 

Edmand's Early Turnip. — This variety is turnip- 
shaped, that is, tapering more gradually below the 



OF ONE ACRE. 



63 




bdmand's eakly turnip beet. 




BUBPEE'S IMPKOVED BLOOD TURNIP BEET. 



54 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

shoulder than the Eclipse ; the foliage is short and 
stocky, enabling a heavy crop to be grown, as they 
can be grown as closely as six inches apart ; the flesh, 
of a deep blood red, is of the finest quality. 

Burpee's iMrRovED Blood Turnip. — This beet 
attains quite a large size and is very smooth and regu- 
lar in appearance ; the flesh is deep blood red and 
of fine quality, whether eaten in summer or stored 
for winter use ; it is one of the best varieties for the 
latter purpose, and should be sown as described for 
the winter crop. 

CABBAGES. 

Of this vegetable two distinct crops are raised in 
every garden, while many gardeners, by successive 
sowings and the use of several varieties, have them 
fit for use constantly from early spring until fall, and 
throughout the entire winter by storage. In the 
ordinary garden the same result may be obtained by 
planting larger quantities of the early and summer 
varieties, and cutting them as wanted for use, as 
most of them will stand the whole summer without 
bursting or going to seed, and by early fall some of 
the winter cabbage will be large enough for use. 

Early or Summer Cabbages. — The seed for these 
should be sown in a hotbed from the 1st to the 15th 
of February. As soon as the plants are large enough 
to set out they should be given plenty of air, and 
should be gradually hardened off until they are able 
to stand the cool nights without protection ; but they 
should not be allowed to freeze. Treated in this way 
they will be ready for planting out as soon as the 



OF ONE ACRE. 55 

ground can be worked. In making this sowing I 
would have it of two kinds — some of a small, hard- 
heading, early variety, and about twice as many of 
a larger-heading eummer kind. These latter are 
described as second early in the seed catalogues. 

These early cabbages need very little care except 
to have frequent and thorough cultivation, as they 
are comparatively free from insect pests as long as 
they make a healthy growth. If attacked by the 
black fly or green worm, they should be dusted with 
land plaster or slug shot early in the morning, while 
the dew is still on them. The soil around these and 
all other crops that depend on quick growth for their 
superior qualities, must not only be cultivated, to kill 
the weeds, but must be kept loose and well stirred, to 
admit the air to the roots of the plants ; it must not 
be allowed to lie heavy and packed after dashing 
rains, but should be stirred up as soon as dry enough. 
The rows may be as close as can be worked with the 
cultivator, say about three feet, and the plants about 
one and a half feet apart in the row, or even closer, 
if the variety grown makes but small heads. 

Late or Winter Cabbage. — As soon as the 
ground becomes warm in the spring, or early in 
May, a seed bed should be made and sown with the 
late varieties of cabbage and celery, or the seed may 
be sown in drills in the garden ; the seed being sown 
in very thinly, so as to produce plants standing about 
half an inch apart in the row. Where it can be 
done, it is best to sow the seed in a special bed or cold 
frame, where they can be watered and nursed to a 
good size by the time they are wanted for planting. 



56 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

The Flat Dutch and Drumhead types are the best for 
this planting, though many prefer the Savoys, claim- 
ing a superior delicacy of flavor, on account of their 
having more leaf surface to the -number of ribs or 
veins ; they are not, however, nearly such sure head- 
ers, nor are they as good keepers when buried. 

It is important to get the seed sown early, that 
tlie plants may be had of good size by the middle of 
June, though they will make a partial crop if planted 
as late as the middle of August. As these varieties 
make larger heads than the summer cabbages, they 
cannot be planted so closely ; the rows should be 3 
to 3J feet apart, and the plants 2 to 2J feet apart in 
the rows. These can be planted and grown between 
the rows of early peas, corn or potatoes ; but I would 
prefer to wait until the first crop of corn be cleared 
off the ground, as it can then be brought into much 
better condition. It adds greatly to the labor of har- 
vesting the first crop when the ground is so closely 
planted, and the soil is apt to become hard and 
packed before it can be cultivated again. 

When possible, the young cabbage plants should be 
set out directly before or after a good rain, but if there 
is no prospect of rain, they should be planted in the 
evening and a tincupful of water should be poured 
in each hole before the plant is set in ; then draw the 
dry earth up around the stem and pack firmly around 
the plant; this will enable them to withstand at least 
a week of dry weather. If the drought should con- 
tinue longer, or they do not come up fresh in the 
morning after a flagging day, they must be watered 
in the cool of the evening, when the plant will have 



OF ONE ACRE. 57 

the benefit of the water all night. It is waste of time 
to water them while the hot sun is shining, unless 
they can be shaded with papers, old pans, etc. 

As soon as they become well established, the soil 
around them must be carefully loosened and cultiva- 
tion begun. To obtain the best results they must be 
cultivated frequently and deeply. It is a common 
sight in some gardens to see the cabbage with stems 
two feet high . and a small bunch of wormy leaves 
at the top ; a closer examination will show that the 
soil is hard and trampled, and that the plants have 
been left to grow as best they may, while in the well- 
cultivated garden the stems are short and the heads 
are large and solid. 

The young plants of late cabbages are generally 
infested, while in the seed bed, with a small black 
fly, which greatly checks their growth, and sometimes 
entirely destroys them. These can be gotten rid of, 
or better, entirely avoided, by the application of dry 
road dust, soot, slug shot, or land plaster, dusted on 
the young leaves early in the morning, while the dew 
is still on them ; this should be repeated every two 
or three mornings until the fly is exterminated and 
the plants have grown to good size. When the plants 
have been set out and are nearly ready to head, the 
green cabbage worm makes its appearance, and if 
fine marketable heads are desired this pest must be 
destroyed. Many remedies for this are given, most 
of which are ineffectual. It is best to sprinkle well 
with tar water or aliim water, taking care ' to get it 
well down into the centre of the loose leaves, using 
an ordinary watering pot for the purpose ; if a garden 



58 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

syringe is at hand, it can be thrown into the plant 
much better than by sprinkHng. To make the tar 
water, the tar is put in a barrel of water and well 
stirred ; then, when it has been allowed to settle, the 
water from the top is dipped off and used. It should 
be strong enough to have quite a decided taste. The 
alum may be dissolved in the watering pot, about one 
tablespoonful to the gallon, and stirred till dissolved. 
See that the solution gets well into the centre of the 
loose leaves just below the head, as this is the favor- 
ite place of attack by the worms. 

The cabbage is quite hardy and will stand consid- 
erable frost in the fall without damage, being rather 
improved in quality by it. . By the third week in 
November they should be put in pits or the vegetable 
cellar; or, where these conveniences are not at hand, 
they should be pulled up, root and all, the outside 
leaves wrapped closely around the head and stood 
side by side, on their heads, on a w^ell-drained piece 
of ground ; they should be placed in a long row two 
or three heads wide, and where a good many are to 
be buried or gotten out at once, two additional rows 
may be placed on top of these, as shown in the 
illustration. 

Dry soil is then thrown on these heads to the thick- 
ness of five or six inches and the roots left sticking 
out of the top ; this covering should be firmly packed, 
to prevent the entrance of water, and a small gutter 
should be dug round the heap to carry it off. If, 
after the cold weather has set in and the ground is 
slightly frozen, the heap is covered with three to four 
inches of corn fodder or litter, it will prevent the cov- 



OF ONE ACRE. 



59 



ering from freezing so hard, and will greatly lessen the 
work of getting out the heads when wanted for use. 
When heads are wanted, one end of the bank is 
opened ana as many taken out as are desired ; the 
open end is then carefully covered over with soil. 
Too many should not be taken out at once, as they 
retain their flavor better when buried in this manner 



Fig. 1. 




Fig. 2. 




Illustrations showing the manner of storing cabbage for winter use. Figure 1 
showing three rows of heads and Figure 2, five rows. C. Heads of cabbage. 
t>. ooil banked over the heads. D. Drainage ditches to carry off the water. 



than when kept where they are exposed to the open 
air. If it is desired to save some of the best heads for 
seed, the roots of the plant must be buried as well as 
the top ; they can then be replanted early in the spring 
and a cross cut made in the top of the head to assist 
the flower stalks in bursting through, as the heads 



GO 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 




EXTRA EAKLY EXPRESS CABBAGE. 




EARLY JERSEY WAKEFIELD CABBAGE. 



OF ONE ACRE. 61 

are sometimes so tight that they will rot before 
bursting. 

Early Varieties — Extra Early Etampes. — This 
cabbage is the earliest heading variety that I have 
ever grown. The heads are small but round and 
very solid, and it is ready for use nearly two weeks 
ahead of the other early varieties.* 

Early Jersey Wakefield. — This has long been the 
chief favorite for the general crop of early cabbage, 
and is deservedly popular, as it is sure to head when 
the seed is good ; the heads are of good size and 
shape, and the quality is fine. 

Early Summier. — This succeeds the Wakefield, and 
has heads about twice the size of the latter; they are 
round, very solid and slightly flattened on top; it 
has few outside leaves and can be planted closely; 
this variety matures about two weeks later than the 
Wakefield, and a month after the Etampes.f 

varieties of late cabbages. 

At the head of these I would place Burpee's Sure- 
head, which has done so well for me since I began 

* The Extra Early Express, a new variety, just introduced from France, 
and seed of which we distributed for trial this year, has proved eight to ten 
days earlier than the Etampes. The heads do not average quite as large 
as the Etampes, but are of equally as good quality and of the shape 
shown in the illustration on page 60. — Ed. 

f For years, Mr. Vandergaw, a large cabbage grower of Long Island, has 
had a second-early cabbage fully as early as Early Summer and with much 
larger heads. This is known as the Vandergaw Cabbage, and is only now 
being generally introduced. The heads are very large and solid, of the 
shape shown in the illustration on page 64; it is a good keeper, and 
altogether a good variety, also, for winter use. — Ed. 



62 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 




KAELY SUMMER CABBAGE. 




BURPEE'S SUREHEAD CABBAGE. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



63 



planting it, never failing a single season, that I now 
plant my whole crop of it, instead of planting two or 
three kinds as formerly, to guard against poor seed 
or a bad season. It is an improved type of the Pre- 
mium Flat Dutch, to which it is superior in the even- 
ness and regularity of its heads and the " sureness " 
of every plant to form a fine head. With me the 
heads average larger than the Flat Dutch, are 
rather more rounding in shape and are of the finest 
quality. 




BURPEE'S SHORT-STEM DRUMHEAD CABBAGE. 



Short-Stem Drumhead. — This variety produces 
on extra short stems, only a few inches in height, very 
large solid heads, often twenty-five pounds in weight 
It is from this kind that the very large heads seen at 
the county fairs in the fall are grown, and where the 
ground is heavily manured and well cultivated enor- 
mous crops of this variety can be grown ; it is of fine 
quality, very solid and an excellent keeper. 

Danish Ball Head.— This variety has only been 



64 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 




OF ONE ACRE. 65 

recently introduced, but bids fair to take a leading 
place as a winter variety ; the heads are quite round 
and very solid ; they are of medium size and very 
handsome appearance, which make it a good market 
variety, while the quality fully equals its good looks. 



CAULIFLOWER. 

The culture of this vegetable is the same as that 
for cabbage, in most respects, but it is not a certain 
crop in our changeable climate and hot, dry sum.mers. 
It likes plenty of moisture, and if placed in a rather 
wet location or in a bed where it can be frequently 
watered, it will be much more certain to produce 
fine heads. Its superior quality and the high price 
that good heads command make it a most desirable 
crop to grow wherever it will do well. I have 
always found the short-stemmed, extra early varieties 
the best ones to grow, and as in the ordinary season 
but about half of them produce heads under ordi- 
nary garden culture, the rest of them maturing 
throughout the summer and fall, it is almost a con- 
tinuous crop. The seed should be sown as early as 
possible, in the hotbed, and great care should be 
taken that the plants do not become either stunted 
or drawn, as none but the strong, healthy plants will 
produce good heads. It will greatly improve the 
appearance of the heads if some of the broad outside 
leaves are broken half through the stems and the 
tops bent over the heads while forming. This will 
blanch and keep them of that pure whiteness so attract- 
ive in this vegetable as grown by the market garden- 

5 



66 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

ers. The heads should be cut for use or sale as soon 
as they have reached their full size and before the 
buds begin to uncurl, as this spoils both the appear- 
ance and quality of this, the finest and most deli- 
cately flavored of the cabbage family. 



VARIETIES OF CAULIFLOWER. 

Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt. — This is the best 
strain for general use ; there are usually two or more 
grades of this offered in seed catalogues, but the best 




,'S BEST KARLY CAULIFLOWER. 



should always be purchased, even if you can only 
buy a single packet; by taking extra care of it you 
can make every seed count. This A^ariety is quite 
early, has short stems, and makes good-sized heads 
of the best quality. 

Early Snowball. — This variety is. quite early and 
makes fine large heads, of handsome appearance. 



OF ONE ACRE. 67 

Burpee's Best Early. — I have only grown this 
one season, but found it all that it was represented 
in earliness and good heading quality. Owing to a 
drouth early in the spring, the heads were not of large 
size ; the quality was fine, and I think it bids fair to 
be one of the leading varieties. 

CARROTS. 

These are ordinarily little used as table vegetables, 
but will be found very palatable as an ingredient of 
soups and stews. They are very easily grown, the 
seed being planted in drills and the plants thinned 
to six or eight inches apart. The seed should be sown 
in April or May, and they will be ready for use early 
in the summer. For winter use they should be stored 
in the manner described for beets and turnips ; they 
will retain their quality throughout the winter, and 
form a pleasant variety in the winter supply of vege- 
tables. The rich yellow and red-fleshed varieties are 
the most popular, and retaining their bright colors 
when cooked, lend an attractive appearance to the 
dish of which they form a part. 

VARIETIES OF CARROTS. 

Danvers Half-long Orange. — This is claimed 
to have the greatest bulk with the shortest length of 
root, and is a remarkably heavy cropper. The root 
is of a rich, dark orange color, and grows very smooth 
and succeeds in all soils. It is quite a favorite mar- 
ket sort. 

Short Horn. — The flesh of this variety is very 



68 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



fine grained, of deep orange color and superior qual- 
ity. The roots do not penetrate deeply, and the top 
is small, which allows of their being planted quite 
closely. 

Early Very Short Horn, or Golden Ball. — The 
earliest variety ; the roots are round, turnip shaped, 







of small size, deep color, and the quality is of the 
best. 

Ox Heart. — This variety is of large size, the 
roots being seven to eight inches in length and 
three to four inches in diameter at the top ; it tapers 



OF ONE ACRE. 69 

gradually down to one and one-half to two inches at 
the bottom, making very little waste in preparing it 
for the table. It is of fine quality, while its size will 
render any surplus valuable for feeding to the stock. 
Red Saint Vallery. — This is a large late variety 
and makes a good kind to raise for winter use ; the' 
roots grow ten to twelve inches in length and meas- 
ure tw^o to two and one-half inches in diameter at 
the top, tapering gradually to a point at the base. 
It should have deep cultivation to produce the finest 
roots. The color is a deep orange red and the qual- 
ity is very fine. 



cantaloupe, or musk melon. 

These are universal favorites, and too frequently 
are not grown by the kitchen gardener, who labors 
under the idea that they must have a sandy soil 
in some particularly favored section, and that they 
require great skill to grow them. If a variety suited 
to your soil is planted and given the same amount 
of attention and careful cultivation as the rest of the 
garden receives, melons may be had in abundance 
from the first of August till frost comes in the fall, 
though when the first cool nights come they lose 
their fine flavor. If the garden has a southern slope, 
that will be the place for the melons and other 
warmth-loving vegetables ; but they will do almost as 
well in the level field. The rows of hills should be 
five feet apart and the hills at least four feet apart in 
the row, to allow the vines plenty of room to run. It 
is a good plan to make the hills break joint, as they 



70 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

will then cover the ground to better advantage. 
When the line is set, a hole should be scraped with 
the hoe or shovel where the hill is to stand ; this 
should be six inches deep and about tv/elve inches 
in diameter. Compost is then shoveled in, two rows 
"being done at once ; two or three shovelsful are put 
in each hill. The dirt thrown out in making the 
hole is then carefully made into a hill over the com- 
post by using a sharp steel rake, care being taken to 
remove all stones and hard lumps of dirt. The seed 
is then scattered on the top of the hill, general^ from 
twenty to thirty seeds being planted in each hill, 
that there may be an ample supply for the insects 
and yet leave a good stand. They should be thinned 
out gradually, extra ones being left in until they are 
at least a foot in length, as the insect pests are both 
numerous and destructive. 

The hills should not be made until it is time to 
plant the seed, or they will get packed and too hard 
for the young roots to penetrate. When the seed has 
been planted on the hill it should be covered with 
about half an inch of fine soil, sifted and crumbled 
on with the fingers, and the whole top patted down 
with the palm of the hand. The seed should be 
planted as soon as the ground is thoroughly warm 
in the spring and when the temperature does not 
fall below sixty degrees at night. The melons will 
commence ripening about August 1st, and two rows 
across the garden should yield from one half-bushel 
to one bushel daily if the variety planted is of the 
small Netted Gem or Jenny Lind type. These small, 
round melons, of the size of a croquet ball, are very 



OF ONE ACRE. 71 

prolific, and if carefully grown, the quality is very 
fine. Some prefer the larger melons, which fill the 
basket more quickly, but in my experience the small 
ones have been so much more prolific that the yield 
has been almost double in bulk on the same amount 
of ground. The melon rows should be gone over 
early every morning w^hile ripening, as they should 
not he allowed to become yellow on the vines. The 
quality deteriorates very rapidly when allowed to 
ripen in the hot sun, so that they should be picked 
while still green. The right stage for picking can 
readily be told by examining the point where the 
stem joins the melon ; as soon as the stem begins to 
crack away from the melon slightly, or when the 
little drops of red juice form round the base of the 
stem, it is time to pick the melon. When picked, they 
should be put in a cool cellar or spring house until 
wanted for the table. 

Seed may be saved from the largest and finest- 
flavored melons; but if your garden is on heavy soil, 
or if two or three varieties are grown near together, it 
is best to procure fresh seed from some melon-growing 
district every year. 

The ground between the hills should be cultivated 
frequently, as long as it can be done without interfer- 
ing with the vine ; the soil in the hills should be 
kept loose and drawn up around the vines with the 
hoe. When the vines have grown too long to allow 
the passage of the cultivator, the patch can be kept 
clean by pulling out the large weeds by hand, which 
can be done very quickly after a good rain. The 
dense shade caused by the luxuriant vines will cause 



72 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the small and low-growing weeds to rot off. While 
the vines are still small, it will be necessary to dust 
them every few mornings with road dust, soot, plas- 
ter or slug shot, to destroy the flies and striped bugs 
that infest them. When healthy 3'oung vines sud- 
denly wilt and droop in the hot sun without appa- 
rent cause, dig around the root of the plant with the 
fingers or a stick imtil the grub is found which has 
cut the plant off underground. He should be 
searched for and "made an example of" as soon as 
the first vine is discovered to be flagging, or he will 
proceed to eat the whole hill. 



VARIETIES OF MUSK MELONS. 

Burpee's Netted Gem. — The finest as well as the 
earliest of all the small-fruited varieties that I have 
tried, and where a variety of melons is not particu- 
larly desired, it will furnish a generous supply of fine- 
flavored fruit from the first ripening until killed by 
frost. It is a very good keeper, retaining its good 
quality for nearly a week after picking, if kept in a 
cool cellar. This is often a valuable characteristic 
in the latter part of summer, as several warm days 
furnish two or three baskets in the cellar, which keep 
up the supply if the warm spell is followed by cool 
or cloudy days, when the melons on the vines do 
not ripen readily. This variety is thickly netted, 
the meat is thick and solid, and they run as even in 
shape and symmetry as a set of croquet balls, which 
they also resemble in point of size. 

Emerald Gem. — This variety has the small size 



OF ONE ACRE. 



73 







EMERALD GEM CANTALOUPE. 




16K-ft> MONTREAL NUTMEG MELON-ENGKAVKD FROM A THOTOGRAPa. 



74 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

and prolific bearing qualities, with the handsome 
salmon-colored flesh, that originated in the Surprise 
Melon some years ago. Too much cannot be said of 
the quality of this melon, as I do not think there is 
another variety that approaches it in flavor. The 
vines are strong and healthy in growth and well set 
with melons near the hills, and the fruit is early in 
ripening. The melon has a thin, green rind and 
very small seed cavity, almost the entire body of the 
fruit consisting of the rich and luscious meat. 

Montreal Green Nutmeg. — A handsome variety, 
in which large size, regular shape and fine appear- 
ance are combined with thick flesh of the finest 
flavor. In shape they are nearly round, slightly 
flattened at the ends, very deeply ribbed and heavily 
netted. These melons have been grown to over 
thirty pounds in weight, and will average ten to 
twelve pounds in ordinary culture. 



CELEKV. 

While one of the most troublesome vegetables to 
bring to perfection in the ordinary garden, this is one 
of the most desirable, as well as one of the most pro- 
fitable, when well grown. The Michigan celery that 
is being shipped to our eastern cities in such large 
quantities does not seem to have lowered the price 
materially, but has crowded all the inferior and less 
finely-grown plants out of the markets, and the high 
express charges still guarantee a good profit to the 
near-by grower. When the ground has become fairly 
warm in the spring, a bed should be made in some 



OF ONE ACRE. 75 

shady corner for the seed ; if such situation is not 
to be had, the seed can be sown in a spent liotbed, 
cold frame or other convenient place, and can be 
artificially shaded with fresh brush or lath shades 
through the hottest part of the day. Celery is nat- 
urally a swamp plant, and to make a rapid growth 
should have the ground as rich as possible, and also 
as much water as possible, without making the ground 
heavy and sour. The soil should not be allowed to 
become dry or baked, and the weeds should be pulled 
out as soon as they appear. This bed, and, indeed, all 
other seed beds, should be made very rich with well- 
rotted manure ; not with horse-stable manure or phos- 
phate, as both of them are dry and heating, and in 
dry weather would stunt or entirely burn up the young 
plants. The seed should be sown in drills about 
six inches apart, to admit of working the soil with 
a narrow hoe, as the continued watering will harden 
the surface of the bed and check the growth of the 
young plants. When the plants are well up they 
should be thinned out so as to stand an inch apart 
in the drills, and if the plants are ready some little 
time before they are wanted for setting out, they can 
be made more stocky and stronger by shearing off 
about half of the tops. 

When ready to set out, I run a double furrow where 
the row is to be — that is, the plow is run both ways 
in the same furrow, casting up a ridge of dirt on 
either side of a shallow trench ; then in the bottom 
of this trench fine compost or well-rotted manure is 
placed to the depth of one to two inches, and some 
of the fine soil from the sides is drawn down over 



76- A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the manure with a fine rake until the manure is cov- 
ered about three inches. This will still leave a depth 
of about two inches below the surface, which will 
serve to draw and retain the rain water, or, in a dry 
time, can be flooded with a hydrant hose or irrigating 
ditch. Where the ground has been heavily enriched 
or the celery is planted as the first crop — that is, w^hen 
no early vegetable precedes it on the same ground — 
no manure is used in the trench or furrow, which is 
plowed out in the same way, the additional depth 
assisting in the labor of earthing up for blanching. 
To obtain fine quality and appearance the plant 
should be pushed to as rapid a growth as possible 
from the time the seed is sown until the stalks are 
ready for use; if allowed to become stunted, the stalks 
will be knotty in appearance and bitter in taste. 

For my own use and marketing I usually sow seed 
of- two or three varieties, so that if one kind fails for 
any reason, I may still have a crop sufficient for the 
table from the other varieties, while if it is all good I 
have no difficulty in disposing of the surplus ; this is 
the more easily done, as it occupies ground that has 
been cleared of early peas, corn, etc. Another point 
in not confining your planting to the one variety is 
that the handsome " Self-blanching " varieties are 
not good keepers, and as the older kinds take a long 
time to whiten, and a good deal of cold weather to 
develop the fine flavor, they are about ready for use 
when the early kinds are gone. 

While celery is raised as a second crop and has 
always been considered to require frost to develop the 
fine nutty flavor, at least one row in the garden should 



OF ONE ACRE. 77 

be planted with a " Self-blanching " variety as early 
.in the spring as the plants can be procured. For 
this it is a good plan to sow two or three drills of 
celery in the hotbed at the same time with tomatoes, 
peppers, etc., that they may be ready for planting out 
early in the spring. These will grow quickly before 
the very hot weather sets in, and in a favorable sea- 
son w^ill be ready for use by the latter part of August ; 
if kept earthed up they will be of as handsome 
appearance and as crisp and fine flavored as are the 
older varieties in December. 

For the main crop the young plants should be ready 
to set out by the 1st of July, though in a favorable 
locality they can be planted as late as the middle of 
August, as they spend the summer largely in making 
roots and do not grow much until the cool weather. As 
soon as the plants attain eight to ten inches in height, 
or, rather, length of leaf stalk as they lie spread out, the 
earthing up should begin on all kinds of celery, 
although the seed catalogues will tell you that it is 
unnecessary in self-bleaching kinds. These latter 
may be bleached easily by tying the stalks together 
with straw or soft twine, but the earthing-up process 
is much more satisfactory both to produce a compact 
bunch of stalks and an even whiteness in color; other- 
wise, the outside stalks will remain green. 

My plan in earthing for the first time, or " hand- 
ling," as it is called, is to have the dirt loose and fine 
on each side of the row, then to stand astride the 
row, gather all the leaves up and hold them closely 
in the left hand, and with a short-handled hoe draw 
the loose dirt in and pack it firmly around the stalks, 



78 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

leaving about two inches of the tips stick out at the 
top. It is important to hold the stalks closely, that the 
dirt may not sift down among the stalks, which would 
either rot the heart or cause the inner stalks to 
become twisted and crooked. The second and suc- 
ceeding bankings are done by a boy standing over 
the row, clasping the stems in his hand closely, 
while a man on each side banks up the loose dirt 
with a shovel ; as they raise the bank the boy slides 
his hand further up the stalks, until, as before, all but 
tw^o inches of the tips are covered. The boy moves 
along the row backw^ard, facing the two men who are 
using the shovels ; as they finish one plant he grasps 
and bunches another, always having a plant in each 
hand. This method is a great time saver, and also 
enables the work to be done more neatly than where 
the plant has to be held while the dirt is drawn 
from a distance with the hoe. This earthing up should 
be repeated every two or three weeks until it is time 
to store the celery for the winter. Immediately be- 
fore banking, I run the light plow or the cultivator 
on each side of the row, which furnishes plenty of 
fine, loose dirt ready for use. The soil will pack bet- 
ter and remain in the banked form better if it is moist 
when handled, but must not be so wet as to be sticky, 
for it would then "rust" or spot the stalk. The 
plants should be set in rows five or six feet apart, so 
that there may be plenty of soil for the earthing up 
and room to pass between the rows when banked ; 
the taller growing varieties will require full six feet 
between the rows. 

About the third week in November the celery 



OF ONE ACRE. 79 

should be dug and stored ; for if it is left out longer, 
there is danger of its being spoiled by hard freezing. 
If it is to go in the cellar it should be stood upright 
in barrels or in boxes, the sides of which are as high 
as the stalks are tall, so as to keep them straight and 
white; the roots are left on and packed in moist soil, 
in order to keep the plants fresh and crisp ; but the 
soil must not be allowed to come up among the stalks, 




Illustration showing the manner of storing celery in the field for early use. 
.C. Plants of celery. D. Banks of soil. S. Straw covering. E. Board laid on 
top of the straw to keep it in place. 



or it might cause them to rot. The root cellar must 
be kept cool and have plenty of air whenever it can 
be admitted without freezing the contents of the 
cellar. 

Another plan is to set the plants on a well-drained 
plot, side by side in a long row, three or four plants 
wide and as closely together as possible ; earth banks 
are then raised on each side of the row about four to six 



80 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

inches thick at the top, and the ends closed in the same 
manner. The roots are packed soHdly in the soil, and 
the banks are carried up level with the longest tops ; 
when the very cold weather sets in the whole top, 
banks and leaves, is covered with straw, leaves or 
corn fodder, to keep the frost out. I would not recom- 
mend this method of storing unless it is expected to 
have the supply all used or marketed by the 1st of 
January. The best way to store celery is in a hotbed 
or c(ild frame, which is built two or three feet deep in 
the ground, as already described. The celery plants 
are set side by side in this, as in the boxes or barrels, 
and the roots tightly packed in moist soil ; then the 
sash can be put on at nights and in the daytime can 
be entirely removed or slightly raised to admit air, 
according to the temperature. On very cold nights 
the sash can have an extra covering of straw or old 
carpet, and if there is a heavy fall of snow it can be 
left on a few days, until the weather again becomes 
warmer. Stored in this manner, it is no trouble to 
get the celery when wanted ; it can be given plenty 
of air, without which it will not keep, and the late 
kinds, if packed closely together, mil complete their 
bleaching. If the kinds which require blanching 
are not kept earthed up as the growth advances, it 
will be almost impossible to blanch them. 



VARIETIES OF CELERY. 

The dwarf and half-dwarf kinds are the best, as 
they are superior both in quality and appearance 
and are much easier grown. Of these the Dwarf 



OF ONE ACRE. 



81 



Golden Heart is one of the best varieties ; the stalks are 
very thick and solid, fine flavored, and blanch to a 
fine white, excepting the centre, which is of a fine 
golden yellow. 




NEW GOLDEN SELF-BLANCHING CELERY. 



Golden Self-Blanching.— The handsomest and 
most generally satisfactory kind that I have ever 
6 



82 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

planted. I know of none that can equal it in appear- 
ance or quality ; the stalks are large, straight, crisp and 
very solid ; it is very vigorous in growth, attaining a 
height of one to one and a half feet, and I have had 
single plants of three inches in diameter. The leaves 
of this variety are of a beautiful golden yellow after 
the plant has been bleached, which adds greatly to 
its handsome appearance when prepared for the table. 
The young plants should be earthed up as soon as 
they are large enough to handle, and in two weeks 
the celery will be in the finest order for the table, 
thus gaining from one to two months over the ordi- 
nary kinds. The quality is the finest and the stalks 
are crisp, brittle and delicious. 

White Pi.ume. — This is also a self-blanching va- 
riety, but not to the same extent as the preceding 
kind. In this sort the inside stalks are naturally 
white, and the leaves of these white stalks are varie- 
gated in the most striking and beautiful manner, 
which gives it the name and renders it the most 
ornamental variety grown. To bleach the outer 
stalks the plant should be kept earthed up, and it 
will then be ready for use at any time. It is not, 
however, so fine in the small state as the Golden 
Self-Blanching, which is of fine eating quality even 
when growing in the seed bed ; the stalks are not so 
thick and meaty in the White Plume, but have a 
strong " nutty " flavor. 

Crimson or Red Celery. — The red celery is very 
handsome and fine flavored when bleached, and after 
the self-blanching varieties is the most desirable one 
to grow. It grows tall and straight, is crisp and 



OF ONE ACRE. 83 

brittle, and when well blanched is a beautiful golden 
yellow, the ribs and ridges being tinged with 
crimson. 

SWEET CORN. 

The first sweet corn should be planted early in 
April, and should be of some small-growing, very 
early variety, such as the Cory or Minnesota. This 
corn will have to struggle with the frost and chilling 
nights, but with the aid of the ever-present worm, 
which inhabits each ear, will be ready for use long 
before any of the really fine kinds can be had. There 
is only one good thing that I have been able to 
discover in the worm's favor in connection with his 
labors in horticulture, and that is the way in which 
he assists in ripening all the earliest specimens of the 
different fruits. To be sure, his efforts in this line 
are not always appreciated, but he is always there 
when you find a fruit ripening before its regular 
time. About the third week in April a second sow- 
ing of this early corn should be made, and at the 
same time should be planted some early large-eared 
variety, such as Crosby's Twelve-roAved, and an equal 
amount of a late variety, such as Stowell's Evergreen. 
Thereafter a planting should be made^very ten days 
or two weeks, of a favorite sort, which, Vv'ith me, 
is Stowell's Evergreen, although I plant other kinds 
throughout the season, for the sake of variety. These 
plantings should be kept up until the 10th of July, 
after which the late kinds will hardly mature; but if 
the ground can be spared, I would keep on planting 
until the 10th of August, as, if the fall should be late, 



84 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

it will come in very acceptably. Most gardeners 
exhaust their supply about the middle of September, 
as they do not continue to plant late enough. If 
there is danger of heavy frost early in the fall, the 
corn that has well-set ears that have not yet ripened 
should be cut off at the ground and stacked against 
the south side of a fence or building ; it should be 
stood up nearly two feet in thickness, to prevent 
freezing, but should not be thicker, as it will heat 
too much and will be awkward to handle when sort- 
ing over for the good ears. Treated in this way it 
will provide ears for use well into November, but of 
course they will not be of as fine a quality as those 
matured in the ordinary way. 

As the earliest varieties only grow about three feet 
high and have the ears set close to the ground, the 
best way of planting them is to drop the seed ten 
inches to one foot apart, in drills. Sow plenty of 
seed, and if it comes up too thickly it can easily be 
thinned out when hoeing; all suckers should be 
broken off at the same time, so as to throw the 
strength of the plants into the ears. 

If two rows are planted across the garden at each 
planting they will furnish an ample supply for the 
average family. If it is needed for canning or drying, 
an extra large planting should be made early in May, 
which will mature after the heavy harvest work is 
over and before the fall fruit is ready to preserve. 

If some fine compost is placed in the drills or hills, 
it will help greatly to give the young plants a good 
start until they can reach the manure with which 
the garden has been dressed ; where this compost is 



OF ONE ACEE. 85 

put in it should be covered with an inch of soil 
before the seed is sown. 

The climbing snap beans may be planted in the 
hill with the tall-growing corn, or hills of pumpkins ; 
squashes or cucumbers may be made in every fourth 
hill and every third row, although the vines will be 
very much in the way of continued cultivation if the 
ground is inclined to be weedy. Sweet corn should 
not be planted within one hundred yards of field or 
pop-corn, as the pollen will be sure to mix and spoil 
the quality of the table corn. It will sometimes mix 
at greater distances, but this distance would be safe 
in most cases. 

VARIETIES OF SWEET CORN. 

The Cory. — This is the earliest variety known, 
and is at the same time superior in size and quality 
to the varieties which have been grown as extra 
early, before its introduction. It ripens nearly a 
week in advance of any other variety, while the ears 




A RIPENED EAR OF THE CORY CORN. 



are much larger than either the Minnesota or Mar- 
blehead. The grains are well formed to the tip of 
the cob, making a much handsomer ear than the 
other early varieties, while in sweetness and quality 
it is also superior. 



86 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

Amber Cream. — This is a medium early variety ; 
it is a strong, vigorous grower, reaching six to seven 
feet in height; the ears are about ten inches in 
length and the quality is rich and sugary. When 
used on the table the grains are milky white ; the 
" Amber " of its name coming from the ripe seed, 
while the " Cream " is evidently an attempt to describe 
its excellent quality. In planting and picking for 
the table, the size of the ears of this variety and of 
Sto well's Evergreen should be taken into account ; 
a dozen ears being nearly equal to two dozen of some 
of the smaller-eared kinds. 

Crosby's Early Twelve-rowed does not grow 
quite so tall as the Amber Cream, nor are the ears as 
large ; although called " twelve-rowed," it frequently 
has only ten rows. The great merit of this kind 
is in its excellent quality, it being very sweet and 
juicy, and fully equal to any variety that I have ever 
eaten. It is one of the best sorts to plant after the 
very early kinds. 

Potter's Excelsior. — An excellent medium early 
variety ; the ears are of good size, with twelve rows 
of deep grains. It is remarkably sweet and juicy, 
and quite productive, averaging two good ears to a 
stalk. 

Stowell's Evergreen. — This is, in my opinion, 
the finest variety for late and general planting. It is 
strong-growing and prolific, while the ears are of 
large size and handsome appearance. The quality 
is rich and sweet, while the grains are juicy and 
luscious, when picked at the right stage. To have 
the finest corn of any variety it should be picked in 



OF ONE ACRE. 87 

just the right condition ; that is, when the skin of 
the grain breaks at the slightest puncture, and plant- 
ings should be made frequently enough always to 
have a supply at this stage. The quality is inferior 
if it is a few days too old or too young. 



CUCUMBERS. 

In raising cucumbers care should be taken to pro- 
cure seed that is perfectly pure, as it mixes readily 
with other varieties and deteriorates rapidly. The 
seed should be planted in hills, prepared in the man- 
ner described for cantaloupes, three feet apart in the 
row, and the rows 4| to 5 feet apart. If there is not 
enough compost at hand to manure them, as directed 
in the manner of making them, the hills can be 
raked up a few inches above the surface and the 
young plants allowed to feed on the general dressing 
which has been applied to the whole garden ; the 
elevation serving to give the young plants a better 
start than on the level surface. While the cucumber 
is a lover of heat and moisture, it is apt to damp off 
in its early stages if it should be cold and wet; the 
hills tending to lift the young plants up into a drier 
and warmer soil. A liberal quantity of seed should 
be sown in each hill, say twenty to forty seeds, that 
there may be enough 3^oung plants to survive the 
depredations of the striped cucumber bug and of the 
borers. The j^oung plants should be dusted every 
few mornings with ashes, plaster or slug shot, to 
destroy these pests, and as soon as the plants are suffi- 
ciently large to take care of themselves they should 



88 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

be thinned out to only three or four plants in a hill. 
The first planting should not be made before the 
middle of May, for they will not stand cold. The 
cucumbers should be picked as soon as they attain 
sufficient size and before the seeds become developed 
or hard ; this should be done every morning while it 
is still cool, and the cucumbers placed in a cool cellar. 
The very best way is to put them in the water in a 
cool spring-house ; there is no place where melons, 
squashes and cucumbers retain their freshness and 
crisp, fine flavor so fully as in such a spring. If the 
picking is carefully attended to and all the fruit 
picked off as soon as large enough, the vines will 
continue to grow and bear all summer, especially if 
they are in a rather shady situation, such as among 
the sweet corn. A few fine specimens may be allowed 
to ripen for seed, but if many are left the vines will 
dry up and die as soon as they have ripened a crop. 
Where a quantity of small pickles are wanted, the 
best way is to make a planting about the first week 
in August or latter part of July. These will produce 
large quantities if the ground is rich, and wdll con- 
tinue to bear until killed by frost. Like the summer 
crop, they should be picked every day or two, and as 
soon as they are of the size desired, as they will bear 
a great many more if not allowed to grow large ; also 
the smaller the pickle the more attractive it is, and 
the more readily it sells. 



OF ONE ACRE. 89 

VARIETIES OF CUCUMBERS. 

Early Russian. — The earliest variety grown, and 
is of very good quality for table use, but only grows 
about three inches in length ; it is very solid and has 
but few seeds. Its small size and earliness render it 
a very good variety for pickles. 

Early Green Prolific. — This is largely grown 
for pickling, and is immensely productive. The 
shape, quality and great bearing make it a very 
valuable kind. 

Improved Early White Spine. — This variety is 
more generally grown than any other, and is de- 
servedly popular for both table use and for pickling. 
It is of medium length, and from 1 J to 2 inches in 
diameter ; when not too old the flesh is very crisp 
and fine flavored. 

London Long Green. — Grows from twelve to six- 
teen inches in length, is a very dark green in color, 
and presents a fine appearance, while the flesh is firm 
and crisp, and the quality excellent. 

Burpee's Giant Pera Cucumber. — This wonder- 
ful new variety diflers in almost every respect from 
the cucumber as generally grown, and in size and 
quality far surpasses the ordinary kinds. The vines 
are very vigorous in growth, with dark green, luxu- 
riant foliage, which enables it to bear large crops of 
cucumbers of extraordinary size, as they are nearly 
three inches in diameter and are from 15 to 22 inches 
in length. The fruit is uniformly round, smooth 
and straight, the skin being of a pale green and 
entirely free from spines ; when ripe the skin is a 
russet brown. The green cucumbers are fit to eat 



90 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



at any stage of their growth. The flesh is entirely 
white, not tinged with green, as in the ordinary kinds, 




EARLY RUSSIAN CUCUMBER. 




EARLY GREEN PROLIFIC CUCUMBER, 




IMPROVED WUITE SPINE CUCUMBER. 




GIANT PERA CUCUMBER. 



LONDON LONG GREEN CUCUMBER. 



j OF ONE ACRE. 91 

and is crisp, tender and brittle. It has none of the 
cucumber taste of the older kinds, and is not always 
relished at first by those who are fond of the strong- 
flavored varieties, but after becoming accustomed to 
it for a short time, it is preferred to all others. In 
its native home it forms one of the staple foods of the 
inhabitants, being eaten in the natural state without 
any dressing whatever, in the same manner that we 
would eat an apple or a pear. It is certainly one of 
the most remarkable vegetables of recent introduc- 
tion. 

EGG PLANT. 

Since the advent of the potato bug in our Eastern 
States the labor of raising this fine fruit is almost 
trebled, the bug regarding it as a delicacy superior 
even to the potato vines, and from its manner of 
bearing the fruit it is dangerous to apply Paris green 
or other poisons for their destruction. Where there 
is time to attend to it I prefer to have the bugs 
picked off by hand every day, but this is slow work, 
as we frequently get as many as a pint from two 
dozen of plants, and they do considerable damage by 
eating the young shoots and buds, even between 
such frequent pickings. The best way is to dust 
with Paris green or other poison, until the plants are 
of sufficient size to bear fruit, and then to keep the 
bugs off as thoroughly as possible by hand picking. 
In preference to Paris green or other strong poisons, 
I use Hammond's Slug Shot, an insecticide that is sold 
in all seed and implement stores, and which is said 
not to be injurious to man or beast, though poison is 



92 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

present in the impalpable powder; it is also claimed 
that it is an excellent fertilizer, as well as being sure 
death to insects. Having used it three seasons, I have 
found it very satisfactory for the preservation of all 
small plants, excepting in one case of young seedlings 
just coming through the soil, in which case a too 
heavy application burned them up. 

The egg plant is a strong, rank grower and a great 
lover of rich soil and of heat. The seed should be 
started in a warm hotbed or greenhouse about the 
last of March/and the soil should be as rich and 
light as possible. If the plants grow rapidly, they 
will be improved by transplanting in the hotbeds, 
as it will help them to form a good bunch of fibrous 
roots, so that they will sustain no check when planted 
out. They should not be set«out in the garden until 
warm weather is assured, and then should be planted 
in hills enriched as for melons. These hills need 
not be higher than the surface of the garden, but if 
strong growth and large fruits are desired, a hole 
should be scraped out where each plant is to stand, 
and two or three shovelsful of w^ell-rotted manure or 
compost put in, and the soil leveled off again before 
the plant is set. If the ground is dry when the 
plants are set out, water should be poured in the 
holes dug to receive them, and the dry soil drawn 
up around the stems when the plant has been set. 
The roots of the freshly set plants should not come 
in contact with the manure, but should have two or 
three inches of soil through which to seek it as they 
become established. The fruit should be cut as 
soon as it is of sufficient size and before the seeds 



OF ONE ACRE. 93 

become hard, as it soon loses its fine quality when it 
begins to ripen. The plants will also continue longer 
in bearing if this course is pursued, as it takes greatly 
from the strength of any plant to ripen its seed. 
When there is danger of frost in the fall all the fruits 
large enough to use, from the size of an egg up, 
should be picked off and stored in the cellar, as they 
will remain fresh and fit for use for over a month at 



NEW YORK IMPROVED EGG PLANT. 



this cool season of the year; by so doing I have 
frequently enjoyed this fine fruit long after it has 
disappeared from the tables of my neighbors. 

The hills for the plants should be about two feet 
apart in the row, and the rows 'four feet apart. 
Three dozen plants, which will occupy hardly 
a third of one of our kitchen garden rows, will 



94 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

furnish an ample supply for a large family. The 
small early variety matures three or even four weeks 
before the ordinary kinds, bilt as they are hardly 
larger than a good-sized goose egg, it is not worth 
while to bother with them unless you are especially 
fond of the fruit and wish to have it as early as 
possible. 

VARIETIES OF EGG PLANT. 

Extra Early Dwarf Round Purple. — This 
variety is in every respect similar to the New York 
Purple, excepting in size and time of ripening ; the 
fully developed fruit being about two inches in length 
and being ready for use a few weeks after planting 
out in the garden. 

. New York Improved Large Purple. — This is 
the best and most popular variety. It is of large 
size, very handsome color and appearance, and the 
largest in diameter of any variety, yielding large 
slices for frying. The quality is of the finest. 

HORSE EADISH. 

This pungent root is a great favorite as a relish 
in the early spring, and is credited with tonic proper- 
ties ; at any rate it is a very pleasant appetizer at a 
season when we have been almost without fresh 
vegetables for several months. It can be raised in 
almost any soil, though preferring a moist situation, 
and is most at home where it is constantly moist- 
ened or occasionally overflowed by some stream. It 
is raised from pieces of root, three or four inches in 
length and from J to I inch in diameter. These slips 



OF ONE ACRE. 95 

are made from the tails or rootlets cut off in trimming 
the roots for grating, they should be cut off square 
at the top and sloping at the bottom, that you may 
readily know which end goes up when you plant 
them. The slips should be kept in a box of moist 
earth, in a cool cellar, after they have been trimmed, 
until planting tiriie. The slips can be planted with 
a long trowel ; but the best and quickest way is to 
drive a spade, full depth, into the soil, flatways with 
the garden line, move it slightly back and forward, 
to widen the hole, and slip a piece of root down each 
side of the cut made by the spade, which will make 
them six or seven inches apart ; the spade should 
then be driven in about one inch back of its previous 
position and the handle pressed forward, which will 
pack the dirt solidly against the planted roots, the 
tops of which should be placed about one inch under 
the surface. Where it is desired to increase the sup- 
ply as fast as possible, and where the roots have been 
used at home, the crowns or tops, with an inch or so 
of root adhering, can be planted again, but they will 
not make long, smooth roots, like the slips, but will 
have a tendency to make several small roots. 



HOPS. 

At the end of one of the berry rows, or in some 
corner where they will be out of the way of the plow, 
there should be a few poles of hops. These are grown 
from pieces of root, and after being once planted will 
not need further attention except to be kept clear of 
weeds and grass, to be supplied with a good top- 



96 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

dressing of manure in the fall, and suitable poles to 
climb upon. These poles should be good strong ones, 
at least 8 to 10 feet in height. About the last of August 
or first of September the vines should be cut off near 
the ground and the poles pulled up, so that the crop 
may be gathered. There is an old saying that " the 
September winds should never be allowed to blow 
on the hops.'^ The hops should be. spread on sheets 
and placed in some cool, airy garret or loft, to dry. 
It will take five or six good poles to make a bushel 
of hops. 

LETTUCE. 

This is generally known as salad, which is a mis- 
nomer, as salad means anything that is served in a 
green state; it may be onions, tomatoes, cabbage, 
lettuce, or anything of that kind. By general usage 
the word salad has been appropriated to the lettuce, 
as the latter is the plant most frequently grown in 
this country for salad. But call it whichever j^ou 
like, it is one of the greatest additions to our tables, 
and in our kitchen garden it should not be made a 
side issue of a week or two in the spring, but should 
be raised in the finest condition possible throughout 
the season, and by using the hotbeds and cold frames 
it is possible to have it the whole year round. 

To raise head lettuce in perfection the greatest care 
must be taken to reserve the very best and tightest 
heads for seed, or if the seed is to be purchased select 
the hardest-heading varieties. For the earliest plant- 
ing the seed should be sown in the hotbed and have 
the same treatment as its associate, the cabbage ; the 



OF ONE ACRE. 



97 



young plants should not be allowed to stand too 
thickly ; they should be at least an inch apart in the 
seed bed, or be transplanted to that distance when 
half an inch high. When the cabbage is set out, one 
or two lettuce plants may be set between each pair of 
cabbages in the row, according to the distance the 
cabbages are apart. There must be space enough be- 
tween the plants to give the soil a good stirring with 
the hoe around each plant, as thorough cultivation 
is essential to the best development of both cabbage 
and lettuce, A second lot of seed should be planted 
when the tomatoes and eggplants are sown; these 
can be set out in the garden as soon as they are large 
enough to handle. The third sowing should be made 
in the open garden when the first planting is done, 
and the young seedlings should be transplanted as 
soon as the plants 
are large enough 
and before they 
begin to be crowded 
in the row, as this 
last sowing wdll not 
form heads without 
it receives the best 
of care. These three 
sowings are about 
all that can be de- 
pended upon to 
make hard heads, 

unless it can be planted in some rich, shady corner, 
and carefully nursed with the watering pot. 

About the first or middle of May a sowing should 
7 




PERPETUAL LETTTCE, 



y» A KITCHEN GARDEN 

be made of the " Perpetual Lettuce," and the plants, 
when large enough, should bo transplanted and 
treated the same as the head lettuce ; it will not form 
tight heads, but produces a fine bunch of broad, yel- 
lowish-green leaves, which are very crisp and delicate, 
not being strong and bitter, as most lettuces are in hot 
weather. This lettuce will stand from four to six 
weeks without running to seed, so that if plantings 
are made about once a month it can be had in per- 
fection throughout the balance of the season. If the 
head lettuce is more particularly desired, a sowing 
should be made about the first of August, and 
another about the fifteenth ; the young plants should 
be transplanted and treated in the same manner for 
heading as is followed in the spring ; the first sowing 
will not produce heads unless the latter pai-t of Au- 
gust and the first part of September he cool and moist ; 
but you are almost sure to have fine heads from the 
second sowing. Personally, I prefer the Perpetual, 
both for its fine qualities and the ease of growing 
it 

Another way, and the easiest, to have a constant 
succession of lettuce for the table throughout the 
season, is to sow the seed thickly in drills and to cut 
the loose leaves close to the ground when it is three 
or four inches high; this produces rather narrow 
leaves, which are very tender and juicy, but which 
have not the substance of those grown as separate 
plants or heads, and are not so easily prepared for 
the table. These sowings can be made every few 
weeks, and a constant succession of young leaves be 
had for use throughout the entire season. It should 



OP' ONE ACRE. 99 

be the object in sowing lettuce to plant small lots 
frequently, that it may always be had in the best 
condition. 

About the second w^eek in September a sowing of 
some early hard-heading variety should be made, 
and a succeeding one about the first of October; from 
these two sowings the cold frames should be planted, 
about one-third from the first and two-thirds from 
the second ; the plants should be set about six inches 
apart each way, which will allow about fifty plants to 
each sash. When cold weather comes the sash should 
be put on, and the outsides of the frames banked 
around with long stable manure. The plants must 
be treated to plenty of fresh air whenever the weather 
will permit of it, and on very cold nights the sash 
should be reinforced with a covering of straw, old 
mats, or carpet. The lettuce grown in these frames 
is apt to be infested wdth the small insect known as 
the " Green Fly ;" to prevent or to get rid of the pres- 
ence of this pest, tobacco refuse and sweepings from 
a cigar-maker's shop should be strewn on the soil 
under the leaves ; this will destroy the fly and act as 
a fertilizer, but if too much is applied it will spoil the 
delicate flavor of the lettuce. 

If a few very early cabbages are desired, the seed 
should be sown about the first of October and trans- 
planted with the lettuce into the cold frames ; plant- 
ing them about two inches apart each way ; if these 
are in good condition and the spring favorable, they 
can be planted out about the 15th of March, and will 
produce heads one to two weeks earlier than those 
raised in the hotbeds. 



100 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 




buepee's hard-head lettuce. 



VARIETIES OF LETTUCE. 

Bukpee's Hard-Head. — This is the fastest grow- 
ing and the best 
heading kind that I 
have ever grown. 
With this variety 
the ordinary gar- 
dener is able to grow 
as fine, large, solid 
heads as those grown 
by the professional 
market gardener. 
In shape it very 
much resembles a 
cabbage, as even the 
outer leaves tend to curl in over the head, instead of 

spreading outward, 
as in most lettuces. 
In appearance it is 
quite novel and 
striking, the edges 
of the leaves being 
tinged with a deep 
brownish-red, while 
in the centre of its 
hard heads the 
leaves are blanched 
to a b e a u t i f u 1 
creamy white. In 
quality it' is re- 
markably tender, rich, juicy, and never bitter. 
Burpee's Tomhannock. — This is the finest of all 




BUEPEE'S T03IHANN0CK LETTUCE. 



OF ONE ACTvE. 101 

the cutting lettuces, as it is of large size, handsome 
appearance, and the very choicest quaHty. It grows 
very quickly, is soon ready to cut, and stands a long 
time witliout running to seed, retaining throughout 
the season its delicate and delicious flavor. The 
growth is erect ; a fully developed plant is ten to 
tw^elve inches in height, and nearly as great in 
diameter across the top ; the outer edges of the 
leaves curl outward. The outer leaves are shaded 
with reddish-brown, while the inner leaves are 
almost white. It is entirely free from any bitter 
taste throughout the entire summer. 

Stonehead Golden Yellow. — This is a now 
variety, which 
makes very 
solid heads, of 
handsome ap- 
pearance and 
the finest qual- 
ity. Its earli- 
ness, large, tight 
heads and svi- 
perior quality 

••- i. ./ GOLDEN STOKEHEAI) LETTUCE. 

render it one of 

the best kinds for forwarding under glass. 

Burpee's Silver Ball. — This, next to the Hard 
Head, is the best heading variety for general pur- 
poses, and where the brown markings in the latter 
kind are an objection, the gardener will find in 
this kind all the good qualities that go to make a 
desirable lettuce. It })roduces a beautiful head, very 
firm and solid, with handsomely curled leaves. The 




102 



A KITCHEN^ GARDEN 



head is of a silvery white color, very rich and but- 
tery in flavor, and stands for some time before run- 
ning to seed. 
Other excellent 
varieties of cab- 
bage lettuces are 
Philadelphia 
White Cabbage, 
The Hanson and 
The Deacon, 
while The Tennis 
Ball is a great 
favorite with market gardeners for forcing. 




BURPEb-'b SIL\J<.U liiLL LLTTUCb. 



OKRA. 

This plant, like the carrot, is too little grown, "as 
its green pods impart a fine flavor and consistency 
to soups and mixed stews ; besides being very pal- 
atable when stewed and served as is a dish of aspara- 
gus ; the pods can also be dried for winter use. The 
seeds should be planted in drills, and if the dwarf 
variety be used, which I think is preferable, as it 
produces an abundance of pods and does not take 
up nearly so much room, the plants may be allowed 
to stand about one and a half feet apart in the row, 
the rows being three feet apart, though a quarter or 
half a row in the kitchen garden, as here described, 
will furnish an ample supply, both for use and dry- 
ing. For either purpose, they should be cut before 
the pods attain their full size or they will bo hard 
and woody. For drying, the best way is to string 



OF ONE ACRE. 



103 



them on a fine wire or thread and suspend them to 
the raiters of a cool loft or garret until wanted for 
use. The culture of this vegetable is very simple, as 




the seeds are planted in drills about two inches deep, 
and the after treatment is the same as for corn. 



ONIONS. 

In raising onions in quantities the practice of late 
years has been to grow the crop from seed in one sea- 
son, instead of the method formerly almost univer- 
sally practiced in this section, of raising and keeping 
over sets to form the next year's crop. This latter 



104 A KITCHEN GAKDEN 

method is now only practiced to save labor in small 
gardens and to bring a few onions in for use early in 
the season. 

To raise a satisfactory crop the ground must be 
free from weed seeds ; it must be made as rich as 
possible and have constant cultivation from the time 
the seedlings break through the ground until the 
bulbs begin to ripen. The soil must be plowed, 
harrowed and raked, until it is in the finest possible 
condition to receive the seed, and it is important to 
select a plot for this purpose that has been kept free 
from weeds the preceding season. Root crops are 
the best to precede onions, as they not only leave the 
ground free from litter, but also, if they have been 
properly cultivated, leave the soil in fine tilth. 

In our kitchen garden I would sow the seed in 
drills, twelve to fourteen inches apart, and cultivate 
with the wheel hoe ; in field culture, or raised more 
extensively in the garden, plant in rows as closely as 
they can be worked with the cultivator, which, if it 
is provided with very narrow-bladed teeth, can be 
run through any rows where the horse can walk. 
For the kitchen garden, make the surface fine with a 
sharp steel rake, and if no drill is at hand, take a 
rake handle or blunt stick, and, drawing it along the 
garden line, scratch a drill about an inch deep. Sow 
the seed thinly, say an inch apart, but if there is 
reason to doubt the freshness of the seed, sow it 
thicker, so that a good stand may be assured. When 
the onions are an inch high, they should have their 
first working. Follow the wheel hoe or cultivator 
with a narrow-bladed hoe, not wider than an inch 



OF ONE ACRE. 105 

and a half at the cutting part of the blade ; it must 
be sharp and lightly handled, just loosening the 
ground and cutting off any stray weeds. If there 
are no weeds the soil can be quickly loosened with a 
sharp steel rake. They should bo worked every eight 
or ten days from this point until they begin to ripen ; 
if it is neglected for longer periods than these, the 
gardener will rue it in days of back-breaking labor 
on hands and knees. When the young onions have 
made leaves two or three inches in height, they 
should be thinned out to from four to six inches 
apart in the rows, according to the size of the bulb 
made by the particular variety planted. The seed 
for onions grown in this way should be sown as early 
in the spring as the soil can be gotten into the pro- 
per fine condition, so that they may make as strong 
a growth as possible before the hot summer weather 
ripens them off. As they begin to ripen, all those 
with thick necks should be pulled and used upon the 
table, as they will not ripen properly, and if put away 
with the good bulbs will start all to rotting. There 
is a theory common with old gardeners that, by 
bending the tops over when they begin to ripen, the 
bulbs will be increased in size and will ripen more 
quickly ; personally, I have tried it frequently, and 
have never been able to observe any difference in 
those bent and the ones left to ripen in the natural 
way. As soon as the bulbs are well matured, take 
them up at once, as a few rainy days might start 
tliem to growing again if left in the ground ; pull off 
all the tops and roots which adhere to the dry bulbs 
and spread them thinly on the barn floor or on the 



106 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

floor of a cool loft. When it becomes too cold to let 
them remain longer in this position without danger 
of freezing, I put them in peach baskets, the stripped 
sides of which allow a free circulation of air, and 
store them in a cool, well-ventilated cellar, where we 
try to keep the temperature just above freezing by 
admitting air whenever j^ossible, as it takes but very 
little warmth to start them to growing, and then they 
soon become unfit for use. If the gardener saves his 
own seed, the finest and best-shaped onions should 
be laid aside for planting out in the spring, for this 
purpose. 

Where the crop is raised from sets it is not neces- 
sary, though quite desirable, to have the soil made 
as fine as for the seed bed. As the small onions are 
set in, planting at the proper distances apart, almost 
all the cultivation can be done with the narrow 
onion hoe, and if it is regularly attended to at proper 
intervals no hand work is necessary. The onion is 
a hardy bulb, and the sets can be planted as soon in 
the spring as the ground can be gotten into proper 
condition ; this makes an important feature in the 
earliness of the crop, as the sets have several weeks 
the start over the onions raised from seed. For the 
very earliest onions, or those used when the bulb 
and neck are about of equal thickness early in the 
spring, and which go by the name of scallions, the 
sets are planted in October and allowed to remain in 
the ground all winter, so that they are ready for use 
almost as soon as the spring opens, two weeks' growth 
sufficing to bring them to a proper size. Where the 
main garden crop of these fragrant bulbs is raised 



OF ONE ACRE. 107 

from seed, enough sets should be planted to make an 
early supply for the table; if no sets are at hand in 
the fall, to plant for the spring crop of scallions, they 
could be grown by sowing the seed about a month 
earlier than you would plant the sets for the same 
purpose. 

In sowing seeds for sets the same directions apply 
as given for the crop of bulbs, excepting that the 
seed is sown much more thickly, so that the bulbs 
will touch each other and stand two or three wide in 
the row. If they do not seem to be making the 
proper growth as the season advances, they should 
be thinned to the proper extent to enable them to 
grow to the right size, one-half inch in diameter, 
though my own trouble is that they usually grow 
too large ; to remedy this when they are nearly the 
proper size I allow them to become choked with 
grass and weeds, which checks their growth, but 
when this is done they must be watched that this 
mass of stuff does not rot them off when ripe. I think 
a better way would be to go along the row with a 
straight-edged hoe or spade and cut off some of the 
roots. The main object in having the sets of this 
small size is that they shall not run to seed w^hen 
planted out in the spring. Any sets which exceed 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter should be used 
for pickling or cooking. When the sets begin to 
ripen it will sometimes facilitate the process to bend 
all the green tops over close to the bulbs, as it helps 
to dry and shrivel the tops more quickly. When 
thoroughly ripe they should be gathered at once, the 
tops and roots pulled off, and should be spread out 



108 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



and stored for winter in the same manner described 
for the large onions. Any of the sets that persist 
in growing and not drying properly, should be 
thrown out, or they will spoil the whole crop. If a 
suitable cellar or loft is not available for storing the 
bulbs where they will be sure not to start into growth, 
they may be wintered on the barn or loft floor, cov- 
ering with hay as the cold weather advances. The 
hay should be only two inches thick at first, but 
should be increased to one foot in thickness as the 
season advances, and in the spring should be 
removed by the same graded process. 

VARIETIES OF ONIONS. 

Yellow Globe Danvers. — This is a splendid 
variety, and is the most popular and profitable kind 




YELT.OW GIOBE DANVERS ONION. 



to grow for market. It is similar to the Yellow Dan- 
vers as ordinarily grown, excepting in shape, which 



OF ONE ACRE. 109 

is mucli finer, in my opinion, ^o one can fail to be 
pleased with this fine variety when well grown. It 
is quite earl}^, and is one of the very best keeping 
kinds. 

Laege Red Wethersfield. — A strong grower 
and produces immense crops of large, fine bulbs. It 
is ratlier flat in form, deep purplish red on the out- 




LARGE RED WETHERSFIELD ONION. 



side and a much lighter shade inside. It has a strong 
flavor, and is very solid, making an excellent keep- 
ing and shipping sort. 

AYhite Globe. — One of the handsomest onions 
grown, beautiful in shape and color, having a clear, 
white skin ; the flesh is fine grained, of mild flavor, 
and the bulbs are of good keeping quality. 

White Silverskin, or White Portugal.— This 
is an old and favorite variety, being very desirable 



no 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



for planting in the family garden ; the flavor is the 
mildest of the American varieties ; the small onions 
are very fine for pickling. I think this variety 




SILVERSKIN, OR WHITE PORTUGAL ONIOX. 

should be marketed as early as possible, as with me 
it is not a good keeper.* 

ITALIAN VARIETIES OF ONIONS. 

Giant Red Rocca. — These onions are of large 
size, handsome appearance and mild, delicate flavor. 
In this variety we have an onion which attains a 
weight of from one to two pounds under ordinarily 
good culture, and of most handsome shape and ap- 
pearance, the outer skin being always bright red, 
while the flesh is white, mild and pleasant. 



* Other distinct and good varieties of American onions are Southport 
Yellow Globe and Large Red Globe, Yelloio Strasburrj or Dutch, and the 
Extra Early lied. For more complete information, invaluable to all who 
propose growing onions on a large scale for market, see the new book, 
"How TO Grow Oxioxs, avith Notes on Varieties," an exhaustive 
treatise written by T. Greiner, of New Jersey, Col. A. H. Arlie, of Oregon, 
and W. Atlee Burpee.— Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



Ill 



Earliest White Queen. — This variety does not 
grow to the large size of the other Italian kinds, more 
resembling our American Silverskin in. size and 
appearance, but has the great advantage over the 
latter variety (which takes two seasons to attain the 
same size), of remarkably quick growth, while the 
flavor is equally, if not more, delicate. The bulbs 
are flat, pure white and about two inches in diame- 




GIANT RKD KOCCA ONTON. 



AViriTE QUEE>J ONION. 



ter. It is the finest A^ariety for pickling grown. Sown 
in February, they will produce onions early in the 
summer, wdiile if sown in July, they will be ready to 
harvest in the fall, and will then keep in splendid 
condition throughout the winter. 

Giant Yellow Rocca. — -This variety is similar 
to the Giant Eed Rocca described above, except in 
color, which is a clear golden yellow. It is this vari- 



112 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

ety which is the real " Spanish Onion" so generally 
sold at the fruit stands in the cities. 

Burpee's Mammoth Silver King. — This I believe 
to be the handsomest variety of onion grown, as I 
think the white-skinned varieties the most attractive. 
The bulbs are slightly flattened, but are very thick 
through, averaging five to six inches in diameter, 
and have been grown to the enormous weight of over 
four pounds to the single bulb, while two-pound 
bulbs are frequently produced under fair culture. 
The skin is a beautiful silvery white ; the flesh is 
even whiter, while the flavor is very mild and pleas- 
ant, the Italians eating them as w^e do apples. 



PAESLEY. 

This should be grown by every gardener on account 
of its usefulness, both for seasoning and garnishing. 
As it seeds in the second season, fresh plantings 
should be made every spring. The seed, being very 
slow to germinate, should be soaked in tepid water 
for twenty -four hours before planting. The best way 
is to sow in the hotbed or cold frame and transplant 
to the garden, but it can be sown in drills where 
wanted and thinned out to the proper distance apart. 
I always try to have a bed of it near the kitchen door, 
as it saves much running ; if such a bed cannot be 
conveniently placed, some should be cut and brought 
in with the other vegetables, as it will keep fresh 
some days if kept in cold water. In the fall some 
of the best roots should be taken up and planted in 
the cold frame, or put in pots and boxes in the sunny 



OF ONE ACRE. 



113 



windows of the house, for a winter supply. The 
leaves and tops from trimming the celery are also 
very fine for flavoring. 




EXTRA CURLED DWARF PARSLEY. 

The Extra Curled Dwarf is so much finer and 
handsomer than the other kinds that it should be the 
only one grown. 

PARSNIPS. 

This is a winter vegetable, needing hard freezing 
to refine and bring out its best quality; the roots 
should be left to stand where grown until they can 
be dug in the spring or through the winter as wanted, 
though some may be dug and stored in heaps for 
use when the ground is frozen too solidly to admit of 
digging them. If there is more than are wanted for 
table use, there should be no delay in getting them 
dug and marketed as early in the spring as possible, 
8 



114 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



■|i 



for when they begin to sprout and grow, they very 
soon become woody and unfit to eat. A row should 
be sown in the garden at the 
same time as the onions, beets, 
etc., are planted. It is best to 
sow the seed quite thickly ; by 
thickly I mean one seed every 
inch or so ; when the young 
plants are about three inches 
high they should be thinned 
out to six inches apart in the 
row, care being taken to leave 
only one plant in a place, as, if 
two are left, they will spoil the 
symmetrical shape of the roots 
by growing against each other. 
In planting the seed I always 
try to run it in between two 
rows of beets, onions, lettuce, or 
other early crop, thus w^orking 
it with the wheel hoe while 
small, and when the other crops have been taken off 
there is room to work it with the cultivator, which 
is run as close to the rows and as deeply as possible, 
so that the roots may attain the largest size. In 
digging the roots when the ground is frozen hard 
and is impenetrable to the spade, I use a long iron 
post digger with a steel blade. 




IMPROVKD GUERNSEY 
PARSNIP. 



OF ONE ACRE. 115 



VARIETIES OF PARSNIPS. 



For the last three seasons I have grown the Im- 
proved Guernsey, and have found it so much 
superior in size and quality to the Long Smooth, 
as to be above comparison. The roots are smooth, 
fine shaped, and free from small roots, while the 
quality is very superior. 



PEAS. 



The first planting should be made in the spring, 
as soon as the ground can be prepared. It is my prac- 
tice to sow three varieties at the first planting, and 
two varieties at each subsequent one, kinds being 
sown which will mature in succession, one being 
ready to pick about the time the preceding one is 
past. The same result may be obtained by making 
plantings of the same sort a week apart. I think 
my way the easier, and besides, relish the variety. 
A drill of fifty feet would probably be sufficient for 
an ordinary family to have in bearing, but as my 
own family is large and very fond of this vegetable, 
and insist upon having them upon the table every day 
in the season when it is possible to grow them, I find 
a full row across the garden none too many to have 
in bearing at one time. 

For several years past I have given up raising the 
tall growing peas requiring brush or sticks for their 
support, as it is not easy to procure sufficient brush 
for a garden of this size, unless you have a con- 
venient woods upon which to draw, and even then it 
takes a great deal of labor to get the brush and stick 



IIG A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the peas ; while it takes more than twice as long to 
clear the ground for the succeeding crop, and the 
rows must be planted at a greater distance apart, to 
admit of cultivation. 

The quality of the dwarf kinds is fully as good as 
of the tall growing ones, and in many kinds the 
crop borne is fully as prolific ; the only strong point 
that I know of in favor of the brushed peas, is that 
the pickers do not growl half so much at picking 
them as they do over the lower growing ones, and 
.that some of the varieties can be had later in the 
summer, as their height serves to shade the ground 
between the rows and thus keeps it cool. As for the 
growls of the picker, the short vines admit of no loaf- 
ing place, and no true gardener or lover of his craft 
ever seems to be aware that he has such a thing as 
a spine (except on his cucumbers) till he tries to 
straighten up at the end of the day's work. 

For sowing the seed, plow a drill as deeply as pos- 
sible with the hand plow ; sow the seed thickly, say 
a quart to 200 feet of drill, and cover by plowing 
the dirt back again; when the hand-plow is not 
among the assortment of tools, scrape a drill three 
inches deep and as broad as the blade of the hoe, 
scatter the seed the whole breadth of the drill, using 
about one-third more seed than above directed, and 
then press them into the bottom of the drill with the 
sole of the boot, covering the fine dirt in afterward 
with a steel rake ; this takes longer to do, but is a 
much better way to plant them when the time can be 
spared ; the row being broader it gives the plants 
more room, and the seed being planted more deeply 



OF ONE ACRE. 117 

will better withstand the hot weather. For the very 
earliest planting the seed should only be covered 
about an inch deep, and more soil can be drawn 
around them when well started. The successive 
plantings of peas should be kept up until the middle 
of June; those planted later than this will mildew, 
and not fill out the pods, unless in a cool and shady 
situation. The plantings should be resumed about 
the first week in August, and three successive plant- 
ings, about ten days apart, should be made. The 
vines and pods of these peas wdll most likely mildew, 
but the peas that you w^ill get in the cool days of the 
fall will be the finest in quality, of the whole season. 
In selecting the sorts to plant, the wrinkled varieties 
will be found of better quality than the smooth kinds, 
the latter requiring to be picked while quite young, 
as they become hard, while the wrinkled ones remain 
longer in good condition. 

VARIETIES OF PEAS. 

Burpee's Extra Early. — This is a remarkably 
early selection of the well-known Philadelphia Early. 
It is the first variety to ripen, ripens nearly all its 




BURPEE'S EXTRA EARLY PEA. 



pods at one time, and is very sweet and tender when 
cooked ; the vines grow about two feet in height, but 
can easily be supported by driving stakes every few 



318 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



feet and confining tlie vines with twine running from 
one stake to another.* 

American Wonder. — This little fellow is really a 
wonder, as it grows only eight to ten inches in height 
and is literally covered with pods. It is remarkably 




AMERICAN WONDER PEAS. 



early, ripening in from thirty-five to forty days, and 
in succulent sweetness cannot be surpassed. 

Extra Early Premium Gem.— This variety is 
about ten days later than the American Wonder, and 
grows from twelve to fourteen inches in height. The 
peas are remarkably fine in quality, and I have 
planted it for several years as my main variety. 

Pride of the Market. — A new pea that I have 
grown the past two seasons, and find Of very superior 
merit. The price of the seed has been too high to 
admit of extensive planting, but with these three 
dwarf kinds, the only ones planted for the table this 
last season, I can say that I have never been better 
supplied, or with finer peas. This variety grows about 

* Equally as early is Laxton's Earliest of All, which is a blue-seeded 
variety, of very fine quality and handsome appearance. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



119 



a foot and a half in height and bears a very heavy 
crop of pods, which latter 
and the peas that they 
contain are of unusual 
size and substance.* 

Laxton's Evolution. 
— This variety is a nov- 
elty in the way of peas; 
in the other varieties the 
object having been of late 
years to have the pods all 
mature as nearly as pos- 
sible at the same time; 
this object has been 
sought for the benefit of 
the market gardeners, 
while in this new variety 
we have a kind which 
will, from its everbearing 
habits, be a great boon 
to the family gardener. 
The vines grow about 
three feet high, and bear 
continuously, for a space 
of nearly three months, 
an abundance of hand- 
some, large pods, each of 
which contains eight to 
ten wrinkled peas, the 
pods being borne in clus- 

* The Stratagem is also a remarkably fine pea, of the same type as Pride 
of the Market, except that the large, handsome peas are wrinkled. — Ed. 




LAXTON'S EVOLUTION PEA. 



120 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



ters of two, which facilitates the picking. Like all 
wrinkled varieties, the quality of this remarkable 
pea is most excellent. 




Champion of England. 
— This is a large growing 
late sort, and is very pro- 
ductive, with peas of deli- 
cious flavor. The vines 
grow to four or ^\e feet 
in height, and this past 
summer I ate them in 
perfection fully a month 
after the other varieties 
had disappeared from the 
table 



BURPEE'S QUANTITY. 



* Mr. Darlington's remarks on the varieties of peas would be incomplete 
without reference to two remarkable new peas, obtained by crosses made 
some years since, but only now (1888) being introduced. These peas have 
been called Burpee's Quantity (which is illustrated above), and Burpee's 
Quality, — the former because it is the most productive of all, as many as 
ninety pods having been counted upon a single vine — the latter, because, 



OF ONE ACRE. 121 

PEPPERS. 

The seed should be sown about the middle of 
March, in the hotbed, if wanted for summer use, 
and as soon as the nights are warm they should be 
planted out. They can be sown in the open ground 
if the fruit is not wanted for use before fall. As 
they are used in preparing various kinds of pickles, 
etc., it would probably be the better plan to plant 
some at both times. When about six inches high, 
they should be transplanted to the rows whore they 
are to fruit, and should be set about two feet apart in 
the row. AVhere room is scarce, I usually set two 
pepper plants between each hill of cantaloupes, as 
they grow well above the vines and are not at all in 
the way, while having the ground shaded from the 
hot sun by the vines of the melons, the surface being 
kept cool and moist by their broad leaves, is of great 
advantage to the peppers. In choosing varieties, 

while also very productive, it excels othervarieties in its peculiarly rich, 
sugary flavor. Both varieties grow two and a half feet high, but will well 
repay brushing, and both are main-crop peas, — Burpee's Quantity being 
ready for the table in about two months, and Burpee's Quality in seven 
weeks from planting. 

Probably no one in America is better posted as to the relative value in the 
garden of the different peas than Mr. William Falconer, Glen Cove, N. Y., 
the well-known writer on garden topics. A few peas of Burpee's Quantity 
(then known as No. 75) were sent to Mr. Falconer for trial. On Oct. 28th, 
1887, he writes, "The pea, No. 75, I had from you this year has given me 
much satisfaction ; indeed, so well pleased am I with it that I wish to grow 
it next year as a main crop. Season medium to late, grows two and a 
half feet, and in the way of Abundance ; peas large, closely packed together 
in tight pods, and, when cooked, of capital quality. Without any exception, 
the heaviest cropper among all my peas this year" — Ed. 



122 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



those kinds having the mildest flavor and handsom- 
est appearance should be selected. 

VAEIETIES OF PEPPERS. 

Burpee's Ruby King. — This variety produces the 
handsomest, and at the same time the largest and 
mildest peppers that I have ever grown ; one speci- 
men this season being six inches long and over ten 




inches in round circumference. When ripe the fruit 
is a beautiful, bright, ruby-red color, and the flavor is 
mild and pleasant, being much milder than in any 
other variety of red pepper. 



OF ONE ACRE. 123 

Burpee's Golden Upright. — In this variety the 
fruit grows in a different manner from any- other 
large pepper that I have ever seen ; it grows upright 
on the fruit stems, instead of pendulous. The fruits 
are large and handsome, being about four to five 




BURPEE'S GOLDEN UPRIGHT PEPPER. 



inches in length, and are of rich golden yellow 
tinged with red. In taste it is as mild as the Ruby 
King — the two making a very fine contrast when 
used together. 

Bull Nose and Golden Dawn are the finest of 
the older kinds, but do not compare with the two 
above given, either for size or mildness of flavor. 

Red Cluster. — This is one of the finest varieties 
that I have ever grown; it is low and bushy in 



124 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

growth, and is covered with a profusion of thin, 
round peppers, about three inches in length and one- 
quarter inch in diameter at the base, tapering to a 
long, sharp point. When ripe, the fruit is a brilliant 
coral red, and a plant covered with fruit looks like 




RED CLUSTER PEPPER. 



some brilliant-foliaged plant that has escaped from 
the flower garden. It is very hot and pungent in 
flavor, and an idea of the productiveness can be had 
from the fact that over twelve hundred were counted 
on a single plant this last summer.* 



* A very distinct and novel variety has just been introduced from China, 
under the name of Celestial Pepper. The small, nearly heart-shaped 
fruits are produced in great abundance, growing upright, and are of a 
beautiful creamy yellow color until fully ripe, when they turn coral red: 
the plant is handsome enough for the flower garden. Among the largest 
of the sweet, mild red peppers are Spanish Monstrous and Procopp's Giant, 
while among the hottest of all peppers is the Long Narroio Cayenne. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 



125 



PUMPKINS. 

These take up so much room that they properly 
belong in the corn field, or in a patch of their own, 
in one of the cultivated fields. If there is no place 
for them outside the kitchen garden, and they can be 
kept far enough away from the squashes and canta- 
loupes, they can be planted about every twenty feet, 
in every fourth row of potatoes or sweet corn. They 
should not be planted until the corn or potatoes 




SMALL SUGAR PUMPKIN. 



NEW GOLDEN MARROW PUMPKIN. 



have grown three or four inches high, or they will be 
in the way of cultivating these crops. If one row of 
the corn were left out, and a row of pumpkins 
planted, it would probably be the most satisfactory 
way to grow them, as the tall growing corn, of which 
there should be at least five rows between them and 
any other vines, would prevent the pollen from mix- 
ing, and as the hills need only be four or five feet 
apart, a great many could be raised in a row. The 



126 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

pumpkins must all be gathered in and stored before 
any heavy frosts, as it will spoil and start them to 
rotting. 

VARIETIES OF PUMPKINS. 

Small Sugar. — This is very handsome and pro- 
lific, of small size, the pumpkins averaging about ten 
inches in diameter ; the skin is a deep orange yellow. 
It is very fine grained in flesh, sweet in taste, and an 
excellent keeper. 

Golden Marrow. — Of round shape, slightly ribbed 
and flattened at the ends ; the skin is a rich golden 
orange color ; the flesh is of extra quality, and very 
soft and tender when cooked. It is a splendid keeper, 
vigorous grower, and keeps well throughout the 
winter.* 

radishes. 

These should be sown as soon as the ground can be 
worked in the spring, and successive sowings should be 
made every two or three weeks, as recommended with 
peas, lettuce, etc. Do not sow too many at one time, 
but sow frequently, that they may be had fresh and 
crisp ; they soon become either hollow, or hard and 
woody, if allowed to stand long after they are of suffi- 
cient size for use. Where there is glass enough to 

* While both of the varieties named are excellent for pumpkin pies, a 
new variety from Washington County, New York, is of superlatively f.no 
quality. It is known as The Quaker Pie Pumpkin, as it had been kept for 
many years in a family of " Quakers/' or Friends, whose pumpkin pies 
became famous throughout the neighborhood. 

The Saint George or Old Nerjro pumpkin cf New England is also a great 
favorite, from the choice quality of its fine-grained flesh. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 127 

spare, it is an excellent plan to sow two or three rows 
in the hotbed at each planting of seeds, which will 
furnish them for use several weeks before they can be 
had from the garden. 

There is a general impression that radishes do not 
do well except in very light soil, while my experience 
is that it is mainly a matter of manure and cultiva- 
tion, and that good radishes can be raised early in the 
season on the heaviest of soils, though later in the 
season they will not succeed unless the soil be favor- 
able. Where " Night Soil" can be obtained and com- 
posted with ashes, it will make the finest kind of 
manure for the radish bed ; but it should be applied 
with judgment, as it will burn up any crop if applied 
too heavily. This manure can hardly be so readily 
applied in a special location in the garden worked 
by horse power, and I strongly disapprove of making 
" beds" in such a garden; it should be kept as level 
as possible, that all the cultivation may be done with 
the wheel and horse hoes ; while " beds " mean lots of 
slow hand work, and hard beaten ground in the paths 
and edges, that are perpetual sources of weeds; 
while in the level garden the location of rows and 
crops can be continually shifted, every portion of the 
ground being used, and none escaping cultivation. 

For the earliest plantings, the small, very early 
kinds should be used, and these will grow the finest 
radishes of the season, fresh, crisp, and slightly pun- 
gent. For summer use, the large summer kinds, of 
very mild flavor, should be selected. These latter 
should be planted from the first of June until the 
first of August, after which I begin to sow the small 



128 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

early kinds again, having found that I can grow 
them as line and palatable as in the spring. In sow- 
ing these in the kitclien garden I sow a part of a row 
at a time, in the portion worked with the wheel hoe, 
where the rows are about one foot apart; the seed 
is sown thinly in the drills, and if it comes up too 
thickly, should be thinned out to one inch apart for 
the small kinds and two inches for the larger ones. 
The seed should be sown from one-half inch to one 
inch in depth, according as it is early or late in 
the season or in heavy or light soils. The radishes 
should be pulled early in the morning and kept in 
fresh water in a cool cellar until used, so as to have 
them fresh, brittle and crisp. The large winter varie- 
ties are not much raised, except by the Germans, 
being rather too pungent for the American taste.* 
The seed is generally mixed with the turnip seed 
and broad-casted or drilled in together, but if I were 
planting them, I would think it much better to sow 
them in drills and cultivate separately. 

VARIETIES OF RADISHES. 

Burpee's Earliest [Scarlet Button). — I have grown 
this new radish for two seasons and consider it the 
earliest and finest radish that I have ever grown. 
It is the earliest, about one inch in diameter, hand- 
some, crisp and brittle. The color is the deepest 

*We must differ with Mr. Darlington as to the usefulness of the winter 
radishes. Their fresh, j3ungent taste is very refreshing in winter, when 
there is such a scarcity of vegetables. The most popular varieties are the 
California Mammoth White Winter, Chinese Rose Winter and the Round 
Black Spanish Winter Radish. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACHE. 



129 



scarlet. It lias very small leaves, and a great many 
can be grown in a small space, rendering it very valu- 
able for forcing. Last winter I sowed seed between 
the rose bushes in my forcing houses and kept my 
table supplied, and had largo quantities to sell. 




EmhiMl- 



BURPEE'S EARLIEST (.SCARLET BUTTON") RADISHES. 
Katural size, ivhen readi/for use. 



Early Long Scarlet Short Top. — This is a fine 
selection of the long, slender scarlet radishes so 
generally seen in the spring, and is preferred by 
some to the round or turnip radishes. It is very 
early," tender, crisp and fine flavored ; the roots 
averaging half an inch in diameter at the top and 
9 



130 



A KITCHEN GAKDEN 



tapering from that throughout their length of four 
or five inches. 

Earliest Carmine, Olive-Shaped. — A very early 
radish, of a rich carmine color, and while not so early 
as Burpee's Earliest, attains fully twice the size ; the 
roots are of an even, regular olive shape and very 
fine quality. It is an excellent radish for forcing, on 




LONG SCARLET RADISH. 



KAKLIEST CARMINE, OLIVE RADISH. 



account of its size and appearance and the small 
growth of top which it makes, enabling many to be 
grown in a small space.* 



*"For forcing, Wood's Early Frame is preferred to the Long Scarlet; it is 
of same shape, but not so long, and has less foliage. Other good early 
radishes besides those named are Early Round Dark Red, Half Long 
Scarlet, Early Oval Dark Red, Early White Turnip, French Breakfast 
and the White Tipped Turnip Radishes. A variety of these handsome 
little radishes on the table is both attractive and appetizing. — Ed. 



OF OXE ACRE. 



131 



SUMMER VARIETIES OF RADISHES. 

Golden Globe. — This variety is of very quick 
growth and fine quality, being ready for use in from 
four to six weeks after sowing the seed. In shape it 
is almost entirely round, the color quite bright, and 
the quality very sweet and crisp. 

Giant White Stuttgart produces very large roots, 
frequently reaching the size of an ordinary turnip ; it 




GOLDEN GLOBE RADISH. 



GIANT WHITE STUTTGART 
RADISH. 



LONG WHITE 
OR LADY 
RADISH. 



is very quick growing and resists the heat of summer 
well, being firm and brittle until it runs to seed. The 
skin and flesh are pure white, a good guarantee of 
its mild flavor. 

Long White Vienna. — This is a very fine long, 
white radish, both skin and flesh being pure white ; 
it is crisp and brittle and rapid in growth, and to my 



132 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



mind of a much more attractive shape than the 
large globe radishes, which, unless pulled young, are 
too large for any but the confirmed lover of radishes. 
Large White Globe. — A very large, round, sum- 
mer turnip radish, with pure white skin and flesh, 
which is very crisp and brittle. It grows quickly 
and withstands heat well. It is similar to the 
Golden Globe, except in color.* 




LARGE WHITE GLOBE RADISH. 



CALIFORNIA MAMMOTH. 



WINTER VARIETIES. 

California Mammoth White. — This is the 
largest of all radishes, the roots growing eight to ten 
inches long and two to three inches in diameter, 



*In addition to the varieties named, the White Strasburg, Burpee's 
Surprise and Chartiers or Shepherd radishes are particularly valuable for 
summer use. The latter is very handsome, of large shape, clear rose color, 
shading oif into pure white; it is also remarkable from the fact that it 
retains its line quality, even when grown to an extraordinary size. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 133 

while the flesh is solid, snow white and of excellent 
flavor. 

Chinese Eose. — This is a bright, rose-colored 
variety, of very attractive appearance; it is of ex- 
cellent quality, a good keeper, and one of the best 
varieties for winter use. 



POTATOES. 

A small jDlanting, say two or three rows, of these 
should be made as early as possible in the spring, the 
amount planted depending on how soon they will be 
followed by the main crop. These may be planted 
in the furrow when the ground is plowed, but I prefer 
to plant the earliest ones in furrows struck out about 
three inches deep, after the ground has been thor- 
oughly prepared, as they will come up more quickly. 
The rows should be dressed with phosphate, to give 
them a quick growing start, and the pieces of tuber 
placed about one foot apart ; the ground may be run 
over wdth a sharp spike harrow when the potatoes are 
just coming through, or left a little longer and then 
worked with the cultivator. The soil must be kept 
well worked, and as close to the roots as it is possible 
to run. The bugs must be watched for and destroyed 
as soon as they appear, either by dusting with Paris 
green mixed with plaster, or with other insect 
poisons, or by picking them off and destroying them 
by hand, which is the easier way when the patch is 
small and potato plants are young. If these early 
bugs are destroyed before they can lay their eggs, the 
work of protecting the summer crop will be greatly 



134 A KITCHEN GARDEN 



1 



lessened. Where the main crop of potatoes is to be 
raised in the garden, they should be planted about 
the first day of May, or the middle of April, that 
they may be harvested by the middle or last of 
August, and the ground used for a crop of turnips, 
peas, or other second-crop vegetables. As soon as 
the vines begin to die, and the skin of the potatoes 
is well set, so that it will not rub off with the fingers, 
the tubers should be dug or plowed up and stored, 
not only that the ground may be used again, but 
because, if they are left in the ground, they wall either 
start to grow again or begin to rot. When dug, I 
pile them in small heaps of twenty bushels or so on 
the barn floor, dusting each pile as it is made with 
dry, air-slacked lime, about a quart to a heap; this 
helps to dry and preserve them, and prevents any 
tendency to rot. The barn doors are left open through 
the day, for a few days, and the potatoes dry gradually, 
until time for storing them, when it comes cold, 
though where there is a cool vegetable cellar it will 
save time to store them at once, and, of course, at this 
time of the year the ventilators of the cellar should 
be wide open. Where the cellar is too warm and the 
potatoes start to sprout, it is said that it may be pre- 
vented by turning them frequently, but I have never 
had an opportunity to try it. The first planting 
should be made of some very early ripening varieties, 
while the main crop should be of a kind selected for 
good size, heavy cropping, and the best cooking quali- 
ties. 



OF ONE ACRE. 135 

SWEET POTATOES. 

Like some other vegetables, these are generally sup- 
posed lo require special soil and situation to do well, 
but with plenty of manure and good cultivation they 
can be raised of fine size and quality in any garden. 
As described in the chapter on hotbeds, the old pota- 
toes are planted in a warm bed, about the first of 
April, and when the ground is prepared, these are 
taken up and the sprouts broken off close to the 
potato. The potatoes should be buried two or three 
inches deep in the bed, which will give each shoot a 
bunch of fine roots when it is broken off. When the 
nights are warm, and the trees well out in leaf, plow 
a double furrow where the row of sweet potatoes is to 
be ; that is, run the plow each way in the same fur- 
row ; then fill in two or three inches of fine manure, 
and plow the furrows back again, forming a ridge 
over the manure. In the centre of this ridge plant the 
sets about one foot apart ; they must be kept well cul- 
tivated, and the running vines must not be allowed 
to strike root into the soil, or they will form lots of 
small potatoes, and none large enough for use ; some 
gardeners keep the vines coiled round the central 
plant, but the easier way is to throw the vines from 
two rows together, then cultivate the side left bare, 
and throw them back again, cultivating the other 
side ; after the first time they need not be moved but 
once for each cultivation, as the blank side can be 
cultivated and the vines thrown over on it, leaving the 
other side free, which can be cultivated first the next 
time it is done, and the vines thrown back. Throw- 
ing the vines over can be done very quickly by run- 



136 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

ning a rake handle or long light pole under them, and 
throwing its whole length of them over at once : they 
can be dug as soon as large enough for use, by 
scraping the dirt aw^ay from the side of the hill, the 
potatoes pulled off, and the vines left to form more. 
The whole crop should be dug as soon as the vines 
are blackened by the first frost, and spread out in a 
cool dry place, where there will be no danger of their 
freezing. On account of the vines taking so much 
room, the rows should be at least five feet apart. 

SAGE. 

A dozen roots or more of this herb should be planted 
in some part of the garden where it will not be dis- 
turbed by the plow, or if this cannot be done readily, 
the roots can be taken up when the plowing is done, 
divided and reset, which would probably raise a 
larger and finer crop of leaves than allowing them to 
stand in the same place year after year. The crop 
should be cut off a few inches above the ground, as 
soon as it has made its growth and before it begins 
to bloom. The shoots will again start to grow, and 
two or three crops can be cut in a season ; the cut 
tops can be tied in bunches and hung to the rafters, 
or spread thinly on the floor of a cool loft or garret. 

SPINACH. 

This is a quick-growing green, and very hardy, 
making it valuable for early spring and late fall 
growing. It cannot be raised during summer, on 
account of its running immediately to seed w^ithout 



OF ONE ACRE. 137 

making many leaves. It can be sown as soon as the 
ground can be worked in the spring, and will be 
ready for use in a few weeks ; about three sowings 
may be made, two weeks apart, or more, if the sea- 
son is longer, though it will hardly be good if planted 
after the middle of May. The whole plant is cut off 
even with the ground, at any time before it starts to 
run to seed, the leaves and stems being used as boiled 
greens. Large sowings should be made in October, 
of the hardy variety, as it can be cut throughout the 
winter; a later sowing may be made the first of 
November, and lightly covered w^ith litter when the 
ground has been frozen hard ; this covering should be 
raked off early in the spring, and it will complete its 
growth l^efore the first spring planting is ready for 
use. 

VARIETIES OF SPINACH. 

New Thick-leaved Eound. — This variety produces 
large, thick, dark green leaves, somewhat crumpled. 
It possesses the valuable quality of standing for some 
time .after' attain- 
ing its growth, 
before running to 
seed. 

The Norfolk 
Savoy Leaved. — 
The leaves of this 
kind are wrinkled 
like a Savoy cab- 
bage. It makes a ^^^ long-standing spinach. 

large bunch of succulent leaves, producing more 




138 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

weight of leaves than any other variety, and is more 
hardy than any of the other kinds. 

New Long Standing. — This is one of the best 
varieties for spring sowing, as it stands longer than 
any other before running to seed. The leaves are 
thick, fleshy and crumpled like the Norfolk Savoy 
Leaved. 

SQUASHES. 

Hills should be made for the culture of these, in 
the same manner and at the same time as described 
for cucumbers, cantaloupes, etc. These hills should 
be at some distance from the vines above mentioned, 
as there is danger of the pollen mixing and spoiling 
the melons, etc. There are some localities where the 
winter squashes do not do well or are difficult of cul- 
tivation ; but the small summer squashes are of easy 
culture in any locality, though of finer quality on a 
warm sunny slope than elsewhere. The only trouble 
in growing them is to protect them from the rav- 
ages of the Striped Squash Bug while young, for 
which purpose I use slug shot, dusted on the leaves 
early in the morning, while the dew is still on 
them. 

The vines should be allowed plenty of room to 
run, at least four feet on every side. The vines soon 
cover the ground and prevent using the cultivator ; 
but the large leaves so shade the soil that few weeds 
grow, and where they rear their heads above the 
vines they can be cut out with hand hoes or pulled 
out after a rain, by hand. 

As we can hardly use the product of more than a 



OF ONE ACRE. 139 

dozen hills, I divide the long row across the garden 
into three parts, planting the squashes at one end, 
watermelons in the centre, while the other end is 
occupied by cucumbers, which prevents any mixing 
of pollen, and gives a sufficient quantity of each 
fruit without disturbing the symmetry of the garden. 
In gathering the squashes for table use, care must be 
taken that they are not too old, or they will be tough 
and stringy when cooked; the easiest way to judge 
them is to try them with the nail or small stick ; if it 
does not cut the skin freely and easily they are too 
old; no push should be required to make the cut. 
This is also a good test when in doubt about the 
proper condition of sweet corn, and should be applied 
to grains near the base of the ear. No old squashes 
should be allowed to remain on the vines of the 
summer varieties, for if they are allowed to ripen, the 
vine, having fulfilled its natural purpose, will dry up 
and die, while if the fruits are picked off, it will con- 
tinue to grow and produce fruit. 

The winter squashes are raised in the same man- 
ner, but are more difficult to start, as the young plants 
are subject to a borer which eats them off under 
ground. Plenty of seed should be sown in each hill, 
and as soon as you see a plant wilting or cut off, dig 
around its roots with your fingers or a stick until you 
find and kill the borer, otherwise, he will continue 
his labors on the other plants in the hill. The plants 
should also have careful watching and dusting, to pre- 
serve them from the usual insects that prey on young 
vines. When the plants are about one foot in length 
they should be thinned out to two or three in a hill, 



140 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

though the danger from borers is hardly passed yet, 
but to allow them to stand too thickly after attaining 
this size would stunt them and lessen the crop. The 
squashes should be gathered before there is any hard 
frost and stored in a cool, well-aired cellar. Some of 
the winter varieties are equally good for summer use 
before they become too old and hard ; if these are 
planted, the one planting will furnish fruit for both 
seasons. 

SUMMER VARIETIES OF SQUASHES. 

Early White Bush, or Patty-Pan. — This is the 
best known and most generally planted of the early 




EARLY WHITE BUSH SQUASH. GOLDEN SUMMER CROOKKECK SQUASH. 

squashes; when young the quality is very fine, the 
flesh is fine grained and of delicate flavor. It is a 
bush variety and the vine does not " run." 

Golden Summer Crookneck. — A small crook- 
necked summer squash, the skin of which is a bright 
yellow color and is covered with warty excrescences. 
It is early, productive and of excellent flavor. 

White Pineapple, or White Turban. — This 
variety produces a very handsome fruit, though of 
peculiar shape, as will be seen from the accompany- 



OF ONE ACRE. 



141 



ing illustration. The blossom end of the squash is 
smooth and round, while from the stem end start ribs 
or ears, which attain their largest breadth and end 
near the middle of the squash ; these ears usually 
grow in pairs. This variety is of excellent quality, 
and can be used at any stage of its growth, and the 
full-grown fruits can be preserved for early wdnter 
use. The skin and flesh are both of a pure creamy 
w^hite tint ; the flesh being very thick, wdiile the seed 
cavity is quite small. The flesh is fine grained and 
of the best qualit}^, possessing a rich cocoanut 
flavor. 




WHITE PINEAPPLE SQUASH. 



ESSEX HYBKID SQUASH. 



WINTER VARIETIES OF SQUASHES. 

Essex Hybrid. — A very productive squash of the 
finest quality and an excellent keeper, specimens 
having been kept until June, as sound and good as 
when gathered. It is one of the richest flavored, 
finest grained and sweetest of all squashes, while at 



142 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the same time it is one of the largest and most pro- 
ductive, growing close together on the vines and 
averaging from eight to twelve pounds in weight. It 
is of early, quick growth, and can be raised very suc- 
cessfully as a second crop, following early potatoes, 
peas, etc. 




I 



HUBBARD SQUASH. 



Hubbard. — This is a standard and well-known 
winter squash, and is of most excellent quality for 
winter use, but is not so well adapted to all soils and 
localities as the preceding varieties, nor of such easy 
culture. 

tomatoes. 

These rank with the standard vegetables, such as 
corn, potatoes, etc., and yet it is not many years since 
they were grow^n in flower gardens only, the brilliant 
color of their fruit being then considered quite a 
pleasing novelty. Now, by the introduction of the 
canning industry, there is not a day in the year 
when they are absent from our table. Their culture 
is of the simplest, being largely a matter of soil and 



OF ONE ACRE. 143 

manure and good early plants, to be set out as soon 
as the weather will permit in the spring. The seed 
is sown in hotbeds, from the middle of March to the 
middle of April ; if possible, they should be trans- 
planted, when about two inches high, to another sash, 
where they may stand three or four inches apart. 
When there is not room for this, the seed should be 
sown thinly in drills four inches apart, and when 
well started, should be thinned out to two inches 
apart in the row. The hotbeds should be given 
plenty of air on warm days that the plants may be 
stocky and thrifty when planting-time comes. They 
should not be set out until the temperature is over 
G0° at night, or until the oak trees are well out in 
leaf. They should have plenty of room, at least 
three feet in the row and four feet between the rows, 
and for an ordinary family at least four rows should 
be planted. Two rows should be of the earliest and 
two with plants sown a month later, for in some 
varieties there is a tendency to die off after raising 
one crop, though constant picking as fast as they 
ripen, and not allowing surplus ones to remain on 
the vines, will greatly prolong the bearing period ; 
so much so, that in most years I make but one plant- 
ing. The earliest hotbed plants will begin to ripen 
fruit the last week in July or the first in August, 
while, if you make a hill, as for corn, about May 10th, 
and put in a dozen or so seed where you want the 
plant to stand, pulling all out but the strongest one 
when they get a good start, you can have this second 
lot in bearing about the last of August, without the 
use of glass or the labor of transplanting. 



144 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

The young plants must be thoroughly cultivated 
and hoed ; when hoeing, the dirt should be loosened 
right up to the plant, and when it has been worked 
loose and made fine should be drawn up to the stem, 
two or three inches in height. It frequently hap- 
pens, when the- season is late, that the plants have 
grown a foot, or even two feet, in height or length. 
This is no disadvantage, but rather a help, if treated 
in the following manner: A gutter two or three 
inches in depth and nearly the length of the plant, 
is scraped under the planting line with the hoe, and 
the plants laid lengthwise in this and covered over, 
all but about five or six inches of the top, which is 
bent straight upward and afterward treated as though 
it were a plant of that size ; the long stem under- 
ground immediately forms roots and assists in feed- 
ing the growth of the plant. 

The ground should be well manured, but if the 
soil is light it can be overdone, as the plant will run 
too much to vine and be late in producing fruit. I 
have found that, though there is a general impression 
that tomatoes do best on a light, sandy soil, the best 
tomatoes I have ever raised have been on my poorest 
and heaviest ground. On a plot of ground where 
the plow turned up the yellow clay at a depth of five 
or six inches, I have had the ground covered ; cov- 
ered so that you could hardly put your foot down • 
anywhere in the patch without treading on a tomato, 
and not a cracked or rotten one among them. At 
another time I planted all the plants there were at I 
that time of the now famous Turner Hybrid, in a ■ 
patch of clay soil where young nursery trees had been 



OF ONE ACRE. 145 

grown for five years, and you can ask any nursery- 
man how much that leaves in the soil. Yet this 
patch produced tomatoes which astonished all 
beholders and led to its being placed at once upon 
the market ; and right here I would say that the 
flavor and appearance of this variety have been so fine 
with me that I have obtained double price for m}'- 
tomatoes since I have been growing it. In the last 
ten 3^ears I have had the handling of the first stock 
of three new tomatoes, each one of which has seemed 
near perfection when originated, yet each has been 
much superior to its predecessor. I mention this 
only to show how the craft of " assisting nature," or 
gardening, is always progressing and gaining new 
interest in the mind of the gardener. There is a 
constant charm about it, that, once it takes possession 
of you, never lets go. 

If the full-sized, green and partly ripe tomatoes 
are picked off when there is danger of frost, and 
placed under the sash of the cold frame, or on the 
floor of the cellar, they will ripen gradually, and 
though not of very fine quality, may be had fresh 
almost until Christmas ; they must, of course, be 
entirely green when picked, to consume so much time 
in ripening. 

If some plants of the golden or yellow varieties are 
planted, they will add greatly to the attractiveness 
of the dish when mingled with the red ones, served 
sliced in the ordinary manner. If you save your 
own seed, the earliest ripened specimens should be 
saved for that purpose, and should be of perfect 
shape and evenly ripened, with no core, crack or rot 

10 



146 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

about them. The easiest way to clean this seed is, 
take a small box, knock the top and bottom off, and 
nail some wire fly screening over the bottom ; take 
the fresh tomatoes, not rotten ones, as are frequently 
used, and squeeze the seeds into this sieve, throwing 
the pulp and flesh away ; the seed can be w^ashed 
free and clean by running clean water upon them, 
keep them constantly stirred and pick out the bits 
of pulp as they become free and float upon the top 
of the water, while the water and finer particles will 
pass off through the screening. When clean allow 
all the water to drain off and spread the seeds thinly 
on a smooth board or cloth in the sun ; they should 
be stirred frequently, to prevent their adhering to 
each other when dry. If seeds are washed out in 
this manner and carefully dried, you can depend on 
every one growing, wdiile from those saved in the 
ordinary manner, from tomatoes that have been 
allowed to heat and rot, sometimes not one seed in a 
hundred will germinate. 

VARIETIES OF TOMATOES. 

Extra Early Advance. — This variety is said to 
be the earliest in cultivation ; at any rate, it is cer- 
tainly a very early variety, and at the same time its 
fruits are of large size, of handsome, bright, red color 
and good quality ; the solid flesh is free from the 
hard, green core present in the old varieties. 

Burpee's Cardinal.— I had the pleasure of grow- 
ing this variety before it was introduced, having been 
presented with a small packet of seed by the origina- 
tor, who requested me to make a trial of its merits, 



OF ONE ACRE. 



147 



and though it was an unfavorable season, and, as I 
wished to keep it separate, I could not plant it in my 
best tomato ground, its fine qualities exceeded all 




EXTRA EARLY ADVANCE TOMATO. 




BURPEE'S CARDINAL TOMATO. 



148 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

that he claimed for it. It is of beautiful appearance, 
every fruit being a brilliant cardinal red, uniform in 
shape, and without blemish or cracks. The flesh is 
of the same bright color, is firm and free from any 
rot or core, and is of superior flavor. The vine is 
very heavy bearing, and one of the best for all pur- 
poses that I know. 

Burpee's Climax. — This variety resembles some- 




ESSEX EARLY HYBRID TOMATO. 



what the preceding kind, excepting that the fruits 
are a light crimson in color and do not average so 
large as does the Cardinal. The fruit matures early, 
ripens evenly, without core or cracks. The flesh is 
fine-flavored, solid, and produces but few seeds ; it is 
a good kind for all purposes. 

Essex Early Hybrid. — Very early, solid, rich 
flavored and handsome. It is of large size and 



OF ONE ACRE. 149 

grows perfectly smooth ; the color is a bright pink, 
ripening evenly all over. It is very early, a great 
bearer, and, being solid, is a most excellent variety 
for shipping purposes. 

Golden Queen. — This is the best yellow tomato 
that I have ever grown. The fruit is of good size, 
handsome color, smooth, round shape, and superior 
quality. They should be in every garden, for the 




GOLDEN QUEEN TOMATO. 



sake of the pleasing contrast they make when served 
with the red varieties. 

Turner Hybrid. — This variety I consider the 
tomato above all others, not only for its large size, 
handsome appearance and heavy cropping, but most 
of all for its superior quality, which far surpasses that 
of any other tomato that I have ever eaten ; and if 
there is one crop more than another that I pride 



150 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



myself upon, it is my tomatoes. Mr. Burpee, of 
AV. Atlee Burpee & Co., gave me, in 1884, the small 
paper of seed sent them by a customer, and I planted it, 
as stated in the general chapter on tomatoes, and was 
so much pleased with it that since that time I have 
planted it altogether for my own use, with the single 
exception of a few plants of the Golden Queen. It 
is a rank, strong grower, with peculiar foliage, the 




TLUiNKK HYBRID TOMATO. 



vines strongly resembling potato tops. The fruit is 
very large and remarkably early for the size of the 
tomatoes ; the average weight of the fruit is from 
twelve to eighteen ounces, so it will readily be seen 
that the size is very large, while, as above stated, I 
do not think it is possible to recommend the quality 
too highly.* 



Mr. Darlington ha.' only named some of the best of the Jarjre varieties 



OF ONE ACRE. 151 

TURNIPS. 

With our hot, dry summers, turnips can only be 
raised satisfactorily as a fall crop. They can be 
grown as a second crop, after early sweet corn, pota- 
toes or peas, and should be sown as soon as possible 
after the first of August. The ground should be 
plowed or run over two or three times with the culti- 
vator, and then harrowed till it is as fine as it is pos- 
sible to make it. If the seed is sown broadcast, some 
winter radish seed should be mixed and sown with 
it. The ground should be rolled after sowing, not only 
to compact the soil round the seeds, which is essential 
t5 good germination, but also to prevent washing b}^ 
the September rains, if the ground is at all sloping. 
But where the finest turnips and a sure crop are de- 
sired, it is much better to sow our garden turnips in 
drills, one foot apart if you have a wheel hoe, or as 
narrow as you can cultivate, if you have not. This 
will tend to having the roots of even size, and the 
finest appearance, as they can be frequently worked. 
When about three inches high, or Avhen beginning to 
form bulbs, they should be thinned out to four or five 
inches apart in the rows, with the narrow hoe, leav- 
ing each bulb to stand by itself. It will be found 
that by this method, with careful culture, a larger as 
well as a much finer crop can be raised on the same 
ground than if they were sow^n broadcast, and that 
not half as much seed need be used, as it is carefully 
planted just where it is to grow. 

of tomatoes. The very small tomatoes, such as Victoria^ Red Cherry, 
Pear-shaped Yellow and White Ap])le, will be found useful and orna- 
mental for preserving. — Ed. 



152 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

About the third week in November, or before there 
is danger of the ground becoming hard, the turnips 
should be pulled and the tops cut off; take enough 
in the cellar for immediate use, and store the rest in 
heaps. Select a well-drained piece of ground, as 
directed for burying cabbages ; it will be most conve- 
nient to have them near together ; spread about two 
inches of straw on the ground, and heap the turnips 
upon it in the shape of a cone, not more than ten or 
fifteen bushels in a heap ; cover this with straw, an 




Illustration showing manner of storing turnips, beets, carrots, etc., in the gar- 
den for winter use. S, straw covering and ventilating chimney ; D, covering 
of soil over the straw. 



inch or two thick, and bind it together at the top, and 
let it stick up a foot or so above the top of the cone ; 
then cover the heap with four to six inches of soil, all 
but the straw top to the cone, which acts as a chimney 
or ventilator ; the roots can thus be kept in good 
order throughout the winter. The surplus beets and 
carrots can be put in with the turnips, and the whole 
can be gotten at, any day when the temperature is 
above freezing, by making a hole in one side of the 
heap, taking out what you want, and carefully clos- 



OF ONE ACRE, 



153 



ing the opening again. The straw bottom and sides 
are not absolutely necessary, but are a great improve- 
ment and convenience, and will preserve the roots in 
a much cleaner and finer condition ; the straw not 
only helping to keep out the frost, but at the same 
time providing ventilation for the heap. 

VARIETIES OF TURNIPS. 

Early Red, or Purple Top Strap-Leaved. — The 
best known and most generally planted variety. It 




PURPLE TOP STRAP-LEAVED. 



EARLY WHITE FLAT DUTCH TURNIP. 



is a quick grower, and the flesh is very fine grained 
and flavored. The red top of the bulb, which ex- 
tends dow^i to where it rests in the soil, adds very 
much to the appearance of this popular variety. 

Early White Flat Dutch. — This is a quick 
growing and very early variety. The skin and flesh 
are a clear white, and the flesh is solid, very sweet 
and juicy, and of mild flavor. 



154 



A KITCHEN GARDEN 



Extra Early Purple Top Milan. — This kind is 
said to be the earUest of all turnips, maturing two 
weeks earlier than the Early Red. The bulb is very 
flat, of medium size, quite smooth, with a bright pur- 
ple top ; leaves grow very short, 
making a small, neat top. The 
pure white flesh is solid, fine 
grained, and of superior quality, 
even in the largest specimens. 
It is an excellent keeper, re- 
taining its good quality through- 
out the winter. 

White Egg. — As its name 
implies, this is a pure white 
turnip, of egg-shaped growth. 
It grows very quickly; has a 
thin w^hite skin, and very solid, 
fine-grained white flesh. It is 
very sweet and juicy, of mild 
flavor and grows to a good size. 
It is a good variety for either early or late planting. 




WHITE EGG TURNIP 



WATERMELONS. 

These are also supposed to require special location 
and soil, but can easily be raised in any garden where 
the climate is warm enough for cantaloupes, tomatoes, 
etc. What they most need is plenty of encourage- 
ment, in the shape of thorough cultivation and lib- 
eral feeding with well-rotted manure. The hills are 
})repared in the same manner as for cantaloupes, 
4^ excepting that where the manure or compost can be 



OF ONE ACRE. 



155 



obtained, a good-sized hole should be dug, and well- 
rotted manure or compost put in as liberally as the 
supply will admit of, even half a barrel to the hill. 
If this kind of hills can be m.ade, you can plant w^ith 
seed of some of the large growing varieties, and be 
sure of success, unless your season is very short. If 
the season is too short, or if you have not the manure 
for large hills, I would recommend some of the 




smaller fruiting varieties, as they are fully as fine in 
quality, ripen early, and set more melons than the 
larger kinds. From ten to a dozen seeds should be 
sown in each hill about the last of May, or when the 
temperature d^s not go below G0° at night. When 
they have got a good start, thin out to two or three 
plants in a hill. 

If your melons are of the tough-rind variety, as 



156 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

for instance the " Ironclad," you can pick them off 
at the approach of frost, and by storing them in a 
cool, frost-proof cellar, have them in good condition 
till Christmas. Though my own opinion is that they 
lose their attractiveness when the hot weather is 
gone, still, it is always one of the main aims, in 
gardening, to have things out of season as well as 
at their regular period of ripening. 



VARIETIES OF WATERMELONS. 

Hungarian Honey. — This melon is one of the 
best for the small garden. Though not large, aver- 
aging eight to ten inches in diameter, it is per- 
fectly round, so that there is a great deal of eating in 
one of them, while the quality is not equaled in any 
other variety. The melons ripen early, and the vines 
are vigorous in growth and very productive. As its 
name, '^ Honey Melon," implies, it is sweet and lus- 
cious, and of a rich honey flavor, melting completely 
and leaving no stringy fibre in the mouth. The dark 
green skin, and intense brilliant red of the flesh, 
make a very striking appearance when cut. 

Burpee's Mammoth Ironclad. — A large melon, 
of superior quality, and where there is room to grow 
them, will be found a profitable crop for market. 
Under ordinary culture, it frequently attains a weight 
of sixty to seventy pounds. They take their name 
of Ironclad from the exceeding toughness of the 
thin rind. Cutting into one is almost like cutting 
into sheet iron, though the flesh inside is fresh, crisp 
and melting. So strong is this rind, that "I have 



OF ONE ACRE. 157 

stood on one of the smaller melons with a companion, 
our united weight of over 340 pounds not cracking 
the ripe flesh within in the slightest degree ; and I 
have seen a wagon load of melons driven over one in 
the field without damaging it in the slightest. While 
it does not produce many melons to the vine, it more 
than makes up in size and weight what it lacks 
in quantity, being a heavy cropper when this is taken 
into account. The flesh is very beautiful, of a dainty 




red color and rich, sugary flavor. The flesh is never 
meal}^, but always firm and solid. In shape this 
melon is oblong, its length often being two and a half 
times greater than its diameter. 

Icing, or Ice Rind. — This is a dark, green-skinned 
melon, of nearly round shape. It is a favorite 
variety, on account of the solidity of its flesh, thin 
rind, and rich, luscious, sugary flavor. 



158 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

Cuban Queen. — The melons of this variety are 
very handsome and attractive in appearance ; the 
skin being striped, dark, and light green, in a pleas- 
ing manner. The vines are strong and vigorous in 
growth, and bear enormous crops when well manured. 
The melons are large, very heavy, and of the finest 
quality. The rind is very thin, being scarcely more 
than half an inch in thickness on a large melon ; the 
flesh is bright red, very solid, rich, and sugary. This 



#tl<#-^ 




Ul-ft CUBAN QUEEN WATERMELON. 

is one of the very best varieties for general culture 
in all sections. The shape of this variety is oblong, 
being about twice its diameter in length. 

Kolb's Gem. — The skin of this melon is striped, 
as in the Cuban Queen, but is not so handsome, as 
there is not the same amount of contrast between 
the two shades; the shape is much shorter, being 
nearly round. The flesh is bright red, and of good 



OF ONE ACRE. 159 

flavor; and owing to its tough rind is a very good 
shipping and keeping variety.* 

RHUBARB, CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 

These three T would plant in the same row, in the 
small fruit plot or permanent part of the garden, 
mainly because a third of a row of each wdll afford 
an ample supply for a good-sized family, and all re- 
quire nearly the same treatment. The plants of each 
are all set together, each in its own third of the row, 
not interspersed. The plants should be set as early 
in the spring as possible, or can be planted in the fall 
and well mulched with manure. The crowns of the 
rhubarb should be set an inch or two under the sur- 
face, and no stalks pulled until the second or third 
season ; in the fall, when the ground is frozen hard, 
the old leaves should be pulled off and the row well 
mulched with long manure ; in the spring this should 
be worked down to the roots, when the ground is fit 
to work, and the soil kept loose and free from weeds 
while the rhubarb is making its growth. The stalks 
can be pulled as soon as they are large enough for 
use, and can be pulled until they become so small as 
to be unfit for use; then dig in some fine manure or 
compost, and let it grow at will until fall, when the 
stalks will again be fit for use, though this second 
crop is generally allowed to go to waste, mainly, I 
think, through ignorance of the fact that it is just as 



* In addition to the varieties named, we would recommend PMnney's 
Early, as probably the best early melon of good size ; also the Ice Cream 
and Jordan's Gray Monarch, as very choice melons of oblong shape. — Ed. 



160 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

palatable as in the spring, and that it can easily be 
canned for winter use. Like asparagus, it must be 
liberally and continually fed, to have it in fine condi- 
tion and of good size. 

The currants and gooseberries are subject to the 
ravages of the currant worm, which cleans up every 
leaf and berry on the bushes just as they are about 
to ripen. To prevent this, the bushes should be dusted 
with white hellebore when the first worm makes his 
appearance ; as this is a very strong poison many 
are afraid to use it ; and, indeed, great care must be 
taken in using the fruit;, still, the worms usually 
appear about the time the bushes are in bloom, and 
if promptly welcomed will have disappeared, and the 
poison be washed off the bushes before the fruit has 
formed. Any one who does not like to use the helle- 
bore can dust the bushes with road dust or dry wood 
ashes every morning while the dew is still on the 
leaves ; care should be taken that the under side of 
the leaves should receive a good portion of whatever 
is used. There is still another way of getting rid of 
these pests, and that is by hand-picking them; but 
any one wdio has tried it will agree with me that it 
is a somewhat tedious process when done every morn- 
ing for a couple of weeks. 

When the fall comes these bushes should be well 
mulched, and in the spring, before the growth starts, 
the old wood should be cut out of them, care being 
taken not to trim them too severely ; never take out 
more than a third of the wood, or you will trim away 
your crop of fruit for the season. When the spring 
opens, dig in the mulch and keep the ground well 



OF ONE ACRE. 161 

worked and free from weed^, as in the asparagus and 
rhubarb. 



BLACKBEREIES, BLACK CAP RASPBEEEIES AND RED 
RASPBERRIES. 

The culture is the same for all these, and they 
should be planted in liberal quantities, so that there 
may be plenty to preserve, as well as a full supply for 
the table. In my own kitchen garden I have two 
rows of Wilson's Early Blackberry, one row Gregg 
Black Cap, and one row each of Philadelphia and 
Cuthbert Raspberries, and still the family cry for 
more, so I shall add about two rows of Wilson, Jr.^ 
Blackberries, and one of Lucretia Dewberry, in the 
spring. The dewberry will ripen before the black- 
berries, and thus prolong the season, as is already 
done with the two varieties of red raspberries. 

The plants should be planted as early in the spring 
as the ground can be gotten into suitable condition, 
and if purchasing from a nursery, select those plants 
which are grown from root-cuttings, for they will 
not " sucker " so much, and where the garden is con- 
stantly well fed and cultivated this will save much 
in working, and the plants being carefully trimmed 
will last for years without replacing. The rows 
should be ten or twelve feet apart, so as to admit of 
free passage in cultivating and picking. As they do 
not grow so wildly until after the fruit has been 
picked, a couple of rows of peas or a row of early corn 
can be grown between each row. I have tried plant- 
ing at closer distances, with the invariable result that 
by fall the berry patch was an impassable jungle. 
11 



162 A KITCHEN GARDEN 



I 



For manuring the berries coarse manure should 
be applied in the fall, or short, well-rotted manure 
in the spring ; in either case plowing it under as 
applied; if plowed in the fall the furrows should 
all be thrown toward the rows, thus partly banking 
them over for the winter. 

In the first warm days in the spring these bushes 
should have their trimming ; all the old wood that 
has borne fruit will be dead and should be cut out at 
the ground. Three or four good healthy young shoots 
should be selected to each plant, cut off at three and 
a half or four feet in height, and the side shoots cut 
back to three or four inches ; cut off all the rest of 
the suckers. This is important, for if too many are 
left there will be but a small crop of inferior fruit. 
When the whole patch has been trimmed and cleared 
up it should be staked ; or each plant may be staked 
as trimmed, but the trimming will have to be left 
until a week or so later, as the stakes cannot be 
driven in the frozen ground. For this purpose I use 
old fence rails, sawing them in the middle and then 
splitting each piece into two or three stakes, or the 
large limbs, say one to two inches thick, left from trim- 
ming brush, can be used ; the fence-rail stakes, how- 
ever, last longer than the fresh cut poles, and are much 
more easily driven. 

It will be a great help in picking-time if the row 
is gone over with a large pair of hedge shears, and 
the longest of the young shoots shortened in, so as 
to allow easy access to the row. Where it is more 
convenient, the bearing wood may be cut out as soon 



OF ONE ACRE. 163 

as the crop is gathered, thus throwing all the strength 
of the plant into the young shoots. 

Where there is not plenty of manure, bone dust or 
phosphate can be sown on after the plowing in the 
spring and worked down with the harrow or culti- 
vator. It, of course, takes a good deal of rope to tie 
all these and a good patch of grape vines up every 
spring, so I go to a printing office and buy the old 
Sisal rope which comes on the bundles of paper; this 
is strong, and can be bought very cheaply, as it is all 
in short lengths, in fact, most offices would be glad to 
oblige a good subscriber by giving it to him. The 
bushes should be planted eight feet apart in the 
row. 

GRAPES. 

I grow grapes between the rows of berry bushes, 
half way from each row, which are twelve feet apart. 
The vines are eight feet apart in the row ; at every 
vine is planted an old fence rail, the ends squared 
off, and the bottom coated with coal tar before plant- 
ing ; these stand six feet above the surface, and from 
top to top runs a light pole or single strand of wire. 
The vines are tied up to the posts and out along the 
rail ; this gives a clear space underneath for keeping 
the ground worked, and it bears the crop in the most 
convenient position for gathering. The vines should 
be trimmed early in February, that the wounds may 
contract and harden before the sap flows. The vines 
should be tied up with fresh rope ; do not depend on 
any old ties, as, though they may look strong, the 
birds will pick them to pieces to make nests of. Trim 



164 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the vines to long canes, two to four to each post, and 
divide them at the top, carrying half out the top pole 
or wire in each direction ; cut the side shoots back to 
two eyes each, as these are the spurs that will furnish 
the fruit branches. If fruit is desired in finest con- 
dition a two-pound paper bag should be tied round 
the neck, to the stem of each bunch, placing the 
bunch inside, when the berries are about half grown ; 
this preserves the grapes from mildew and, what is 
more destructive, the ravages of bees and birds. 



STRAWBEREIES. 

There should be one or two rows of strawberries 
across the garden ; the rows four feet apart. It will 
be found a great deal easier to keep them free from 
weeds and to gather the fruit when grown in this 
way. The varieties, one early and one late, or both 
rows of a continuous bearing kind, should be of the 
perfect flowering character, as there are plenty of varie- 
ties of this character which are as good and prolific 
as any pistillate sort grown, and they are not so much 
trouble to grow, or as uncertain a crop. The plants 
should be set early in the spring, in well-manured 
ground, twelve inches apart in the row, and should 
be hoed and cultivated as frequently as possible. As 
the runners start lay them lengthways of the row and 
let them root in, keeping the soil loose and fine, so 
that they can easily take hold. 

The blossoms should be kept picked off the season 
of planting, or they will take the strength of the 
young plant so that it will make but a feeble growth 



OF ONE ACRE. 165 

and no runners. In growing the plants in this way 
the runners should not be allowed to form a row 
more than one and a half feet wide, as this will be 
fully two feet in the second season, and as much as 
a picker can manage. The grass particularly should 
be kept out of the rows of young plants, or it will 
take a start in the spring and entirely crowd out the 
strawberries. 

These rows should be set out every spring, taking 
the plants from the outside of the rows planted the 
preceding year, as it is almost impossible to keep 
them free from weeds after the first season, besides 
which they do not bear more than half so many, nor 
nearly such large berries, the second season. Unless 
the ground is very rich where the young plants are 
set, it is a good plan to sow a heavy coat of phos- 
phate, bone, or, best of all, wood ashes, just before 
they are worked with the cultivator for the first time 
in the spring. The young plants should not be 
planted in land that has just been in sod, as it is full 
of white grubs, which will eat the plants off under- 
ground, and care should also be taken that the ma- 
nure for the strawberry plot is not infested with them. 
These rows should be lightly covered with long ma- 
nure, old hay or other litter, in the fall, after the 
ground has become frozen hard, so that they may be 
protected from rapid freezing and thawing ; and if 
the covering is not too heavy, it can be left on in the 
spring and the plants will shoot up through it, leav- 
ing it as a mulch and serving to keep the berries 
clean, by saving them from contact with the ground, 



1G6 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

as does the straw mulching, from which the berry is 
generally supposed to take its name. 

In selecting varieties choose those which are 
recommended as suitable for your soil, heavy or light, 
or such as have proved good in your immediate 
neighborhood, as some of the finest kinds are worth- 
less in a different soil from that to which they are 
adapted. If especially fine, large berries are desired, 
the plants should be set in rows three feet apart, the 
plants twelve inches, as before, and all the runners 
kept cut off as fast as they appear. In this case 
heavy mulching is imperative, or the stools will be 
thrown out of the ground in the spring freezing and 
thawing. When the spring opens, the mulching 
should be cleared away from the crown of the plant, 
but should be allowed to remain on the ground sur- 
rounding the plant, as the weeds can easily be kept 
from such a patch, and fresh fertilizer applied. The 
patch may be continued in bearing for two or three 
seasons, but it will be found a great deal easier if a 
fresh patch is planted in new ground each year. 



COMPOST. 

This should be prepared in the early spring for use 
in the hills, and if it can be stacked in the fall and 
allowed to rot through the winter, it will be all the 
better. It can be composed of barnyard scrapings, 
well-rotted manure, chicken manure, night soil, or 
other strong fertilizer, mixed with at least an equal 
bulk of soil or ashes. This should be wet enough 
to rot thoroughly, but should not be allowed to lie 



OF ONE ACRE. 167 

exposed to the weather where its strength will leach 
away. When thoroughly mixed, I place it in old 
barrels under a shed and pour water on top of each 
barrel occasionally, to keep it rotting. 

MANUEE. 
A good supply of manure should be either made 
or bought, as the garden should have a good dressing 
at least two years out of three ; the third year I usu- 
ally use a phosphate, but would use the manure 
if I could spare it, using also a good dressing of air- 
slaked lime every two or three years. The manner 
of applying the lime and phosphate is the same, but 
they must not be used the same season, as the lime 
will destroy the effect of the phosphate. They are 
sown on in the spring, after the ground has been 
plowed, and before harrowing, the harrow thoroughly 
mixing them with the soil. The supply of manure 
may be largely increased by pulling up the early 
peas, corn, cabbage stalks, etc., as fast as the crops 
are gathered, and adding them to the manure heap ; 
this should be so located that all slops and waste 
from the house can be thrown upon it, so as to assist 
in keeping it constantly rotting; where corn stalks, 
tall weeds, etc., are put on the manure heap they 
should be cut into short lengths, with a corn cutter 
or other implement, to facilitate rotting and hand- 
ling when the manure is drawn out. 

SAVING SEEDS. 

The gardener will consult his judgment and his 
pocketbook in buying seeds, as there are many varie- 



168 A KITCHEN GARDEN OF ONE ACRE. 

ties of which, if he has a good strain, he can save as 
good seed as he can buy ; but the greatest care should 
be used in doing so, as the quality and quantity will 
both rapidly deteriorate if inferior specimens are 
selected from which to save seed. Thus it will not 
do to take off all the best ears of corn, or the tightest 
heads of lettuce, using the nubbins and runts for 
seed, or the next year the nubbins w^ill predominate 
and the lettuce will go to seed without taking the 
trouble to form a head at all. 

The best plan is to set apart a section of the row 
of each variety for seed, and not gather any for use 
from that part ; here all the nubbins and inferior 
specimens could be pulled off, throwing the full 
strength of the plant into the finest fruits; and the 
same way with the vines ; one or more hills, as 
desired, could be kept for the purpose of bearing seed 
only. 

All seeds should be thoroughly cleaned and dried, 
and each package should be carefully marked with 
name and date before storing. The seed chest 
should be in some cool place where there is no dan- 
ger of frost or very warm heat, and, most of all, no 
danger from dampness. It is important to have the 
date of saving the seed marked, so that when all is 
not used it may be kept, as frequently a crop fails 
from a bad season or other causes, and a new lot of 
equal merit cannot be obtained, the date serving to 
tell how good the seed is ; seed of some vegetables 
retaining vitality for only two years, and others as 
long as ten years. 



HOW AND WHAT TO GROW 

IN A KITCHEN GARDEN 

OF ONE ACEE. 



THE SECOND PRIZE ESSAY. 



BY MISS L. M. MOLL. 



To insure success in horticulture, the first requisite 
is a deep, rich, well-drained soil. For a garden, 
nothing can be more important than good drainage. 
Soil properly drained is warmer, dries faster, and can 
be worked earlier in the spring ; it is easier to work 
in a wet season, and more open and moist in a dry 
season. Taking for granted, then, that the ground 
has perfect drainage, it should be plowed deeply in 
the fall, so as to allow the frost to penetrate and 
sweeten the soil. In addition to this, the frost will 
be out sooner in the spring, and the superfluous 
moisture drained off more quickly, thus leaving 

169 



170 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the land in a workable condition at least a week 
earlier.* 

Putting manure on the ground in the fall, or dur- 
ing winter, is a practice I would not recommend, be- 
cause some of its most valuable portions are sure to 
be washed into the drains by the melting snow and 
spring rains, leaving the plants rather a meagre 
supply of nourishment to draw from when they come 
to need it most. The proper way to do is to give the 
ground a liberal spreading of thoroughly decomposed 
barnyard manure in spring, as soon as the land is in 
a workable condition. f 

This should immediately be plowed in, and be 
followed with a sharp, weighted harrow, to thoroughly 
pulverize and mix the soil. This is important, as 
the surface of the soil is not so liable to harden or 
bake afterwards, if the ground is well worked in the 
spring. The soil is also permeated to a greater depth 
by the sun and air, causing healthier and quicker 
growth, consequently better and earlier vegetables. 
The form of our one-acre patch should, by all means, 
be a rectangle, made longer than wide, with the rows 
running lengthwise, and all perfectly straight, and 
everything else so arrajjged that as much of the 

* While, as stated, a well-drained soil is most desirable for the garden, 
and its value is not to be underrated, yet success in gardening can be had 
on almost any soil. The more unfavorable the circumstances, the greater 
credit is due the gardener, and many cannot afford expensive under- 
draining. — Ed. 

f The suggestion as to applying manure in the spring is good, as far as 
the well-drained land is concerned ; where the land is not well-drained, 
however, more of the good properties of the manure are retained by 
applying the coarse manure in the fall, as it then fills the soil with decom- 
posing vegetable matter. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 171 

cultivation can be done by horse power as possible. 
But let me say right here, that no one should under- 
take the cultivation of a kitchen garden without 
being willing to do a reasonable portion of the work 
by hand. This part of the work can, however, be 
greatly lessened by using the various labor-saving 
garden implements, to be purchased at reasonable 
rates, of most seed firms. 

If " variety is the spice of life," it can certainly 
nowhere be more desirable than in the kitchen 
garden, which is to supply our table with its yearly 
demand for choice vegetables ; I say choice, since every 
one having the care of a garden should strive to grow 
everything of the very best, and that, too, in great 
abundance and variety. 

The most convenient mode of arranging the 
different kinds of vegetables is to ; 1st, place the 
perennial plants in one bed, running the entire 
length of the ground ; 2d, Plant the vegetables side 
by side which are to remain out all winter, so as not 
to interfere with next spring's plowing ; 3d, Arrange 
side by side those varieties which require the whole 
season to mature; and, 4th, put beside each other 
the quickly maturing kinds, which may be succeeded 
by other varieties, in order that the ground to be 
occupied by a second crop may be all in one piece. 

The preliminaries being arranged, we are now 
ready to go into details, and to this end we shall first 
take under consideration the permanent bed, so called 
from the fact that it is to contain such perennials as 
asparagus, rhubarb, horse radish, artichoke, and 



172 



A KITCHEN GARDEN- 
NOETH. 



TURNING EOW. 



•Avoa ONiKani 



OF ONE ACRE. ' 173 

chives ; also parsley, and a collection of herbs, with- 
out which no garden is complete. 

The herbs are placed here because they require a soil 
especially prepared for them, by the addition of either 
fine sand or sifted coal ashes, to make it mellow and 
dry. 

ASPARAGUS. 

Asparagus, one of the best and earliest of spring 
vegetables, would be in universal use, but for the 
prevalent though erroneous idea that it is difficult 
to grow. Being a gross feeder, the soil can scarcely 
be too rich. Although the process of deep trenching 
is now being discarded, yet, to attain the best result 
it is necessary that a large quantity of rotted manure 
be worked into the bed, to a depth of at least 18 inches. 
Instead of losing two years' time by raising plants 
from seed, send and get strong two-year old plants 
early in spring. Set these in the prepared bed, 18 
inches apart each way, and about six inches deep. 
Give frequent and thorough cultivation, and as soon 
as the tops are ripe in fall, cut off and burn them, to 
prevent the nuisance of seedling asparagus about 
the garden. Next spring, and for at least fifteen 
years after, the bed should give a full crop, and 
should have a heavy dressing of manure put on each 
fall, which should be spaded in before the shoots 
appear in spring, together with a sprinkling of three 
pints of salt per square rod. 

To facilitate gathering, make the bed of such a 
width as that the centre can be reached from both 



174 A KITCHEN GAEDEN . 

sides. Cut all shoots as soon as they appear, till the 
time for the final cutting, which will vary from the 
middle of May to the middle of June, according to 
latitude and your fondness for this most delicious 
plant. 

RHUBAEB. 

Rhubarb, known familiarly as Pie Plant, succeeds 
best in deep, somewhat retentive soil. Coming, as it 
does, before berries or fruit, its acid leafstalks form an 
admirable substitute. It may be raised from seed, 
but to get the quickest returns procure strong roots 
in spring, and plant them three feet apart each way, 
the ground having first been fertilized and dug to a 
considerable depth. Never permit a plant to exhaust 
itself by seed-bearing ; stir the soil often, cover 
with coarse litter in fall, fork it over in the following 
spring, and you may rely upon a good supply of pie 
plant for many years to come. 

HORSE RADISH. 

The best is grown by planting 8-inch lengths of 
root grown the previous year. These young roots 
planted in spring, small end down, with the top two 
inches below the surface, in rich, well-cultivated soil, 
will form radish of large size and superior quality, in 
one season's growth. After having several weeks' 
growth rub off the young side roots from the newly- 
planted roots, to increase the size and insure a 
smooth, well-shaped root. See to it that no roots are 
scattered about the garden, as every piece of root, 
however small it may be, will, in a short time, become 



OF ONE ACRE. 175 

a strong plant, difficult to eradicate, and thus prove 
how annoying a good thing is in the wrong place. 



GLOBE AETICHOKE. 

The Globe Artichoke is cultivated for its flower 
heads, which are cooked like asparagus, in an unde- 
veloped state. On account of its hardiness, easy cul- 
ture and perennial nature, this plant should be more 
generally grown. Plants raised from seed sown the 
previous year, set in any good garden soil two feet 
apart, with slight covering in winter, will remain in 
bearing a long time, 

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 

The Jerusalem Artichoke needs only to be planted 
in order to thrive. Its tubers can be made into quite 
palatable pickles, and I have seen instances where, 
in the absence of cucumber pickles, the artichoke 
tuber was prepared the same way and used as a 
substitute. 

CHIVES. 

Chives are perfectly hardy perennial little members 
of the onion tribe, and are grown exclusively for their 
tops, which are used wherever the flavor of onion is 
required. Planted in small clumps in any common 
garden soil, they will grow readily, and in time increase 
so as to render a division necessary. The tops appear 
very early in spring, and can be shorn throughout 
the season, hence this valuable little plant should 
have a place in every garden. 



176 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

PARSLEY. 

As parsley seed is so obstinate about germinating 
in spring, it does better if sown in autumn, as soon 
as ripe. Where that is not possible, the seed may 
be sown in spring, but " don't look for the plants 
till you see them coming," since parsley seed just 
comes up when it feels like coming up, and not 
before. The plants should be given a moist, rich 
soil and a partly-shaded situation. The curled sorts 
are ornamental, but the plain-leaved is best for gen- 
eral use in cookery. When once established, a supply 
can easily be kept up from self-sown seed.* 

AROMATIC HERBS. 

Aromatic or Sweet Herbs are worthy of more atten- 
tion than they generally receive. If cooks used them 
more freely, doctors would have less occasion for 
prescribing them. The soil of the herb bed should 
be mellow and warm, but not over-rich. Deep, fertile 
soil produces an increase in size and foliage at the 
expense of fragrance, strength and flavor. The seeds 
should be sown as early in spring as the ground can 
be prepared. 

Sweet Basil, Summer Savory, Sweet Marjoram, Sage 
and Thyme are grown for their foliage, which is used 
for seasoning, while Sweet Fennel, Dill, Coriander, Anise 
and Caraway are chiefly prized on account of their 



••••The parsley seed will germinate quickly if soaked in tepid water for 
twenty-four hours before planting. We must also take exception to the 
statement that the plain-leaved sorts are superior to the curled varie- 
ties for seasoning purposes. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 177 

aromatic seeds. Aside from being useful for culinary 
purposes, most of the above-named plants possess 
valuable properties. 

This completes the permanent bed. 

Before proceeding any further I wish to have it 
understood that hereafter, in the course of this paper, 
all seeds advised to be sown broadcast are to be 
sown in long, narrow beds, with narrow walks be- 
tween the beds, for convenience in gathering the crop 
and to protect the plants from being trodden upon. 

Where sowing in drills is advised, it is likewise to 
be understood that all drills are to be not less than 
eighteen inches apart, and the cultivation between 
them to be done with a hand cultivator or wheel hoe, 
followed by hand hoeing between the plants if 
necessary. 

Where planting in rows is recommended, it is 
intended that all rows, unless otherwise mentioned, 
should be not less than two and a half feet apart, to 
admit of the cultivation with a one-horse plow or 
cultivator, followed also by hand hoeing around the 
plants or hills. 

Concerning the distance plants should be apart in 
the rows or otherwise, it may be safely said that each 
plant should stand so that when fully matured its 
outside leaves will just touch those of its nearest 
neighbor. This rule does not apply to onions and 
root crops, which may stand closer. 

Concerning the best varieties of the different kinds 
of vegetables the reader is referred to the catalogues of 
reliable seedsmen. I shall recommend such varieties 
as I know to be good from personal experience. 

12 



178 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

PAESNIPS AND SALSIFY. 

Alongside of the permanent bed^plant parsnips and 
salsify. ParsnijD seed germinates slowly and quickly 
deteriorates by age, therefore early sowing and seed 
of unquestionable freshness are of primary import- 
ance. The subsoil should by all means be thoroughly 
loosened by the subsoil plow, unless it is naturally 
of a loose, friable texture. When it is borne in mind 
that parsnip roots grow wholly under ground, and 
when w^ell grown measure over eighteen inches in 
length, the necessity for this will be seen at once. 
Sow in drills and thin to five inches apart. Parsnips 
may safely be left in the ground all winter, as frost 
greatly improves them in saccharine quality. 

Salsify or oyster plant, as the name implies, pos- 
sesses the flavor of the oyster to a marked degree, 
and is highly esteemed by many on this account. It 
should have the same treatment in every respect as 
directed for the parsnip, and like it, too, is improved 
by frost. In the ground adjoining the pai^nips and 
salsify, plant such vegetables as lettuce, spinach, 
radish, peas, bush beans, onions, kohl rabi, early cab- 
bage, cauliflower, early potatoes and sweet corn. 
These mature nearly in the order named, and in time 
enough to bo succeeded by other vegetables which 
will be mentioned hereafter. 



LETTUCE, SPINACH AND RADISH. 

Seed of lettuce, spinach and radish should be 
sown broadcast and as early as possible, with later 
sowings at intervals of about two weeks for a succes- 



i 



OF ONE ACRE. 179 

sive supply. Soil for lettuce and spinach should be 
of more than ordinary richness, and should contain 
sufficient moisture to insure rapid continuous growth. 
The best lettuce heads are raised by sowing seed in 
a hotbed and transplanting to the open ground when 
plants are two inches high. Cabbage varieties should 
be selected for this purpose. In this way I have 
grown heads of the New York Lettuce to weigh two 
pounds each, under ordinary treatment. Hanson, 
Burpee^ s Golden Heart and Perpetual Lettuce are all 
good sorts. The Cos varieties do best if tied up a few 
days before using, to blanch all the inner leaves. 

The Radish will thrive in any good garden soil, 
but a light sandy loam is better than heavily ma- 
nured ground. In order to be crisp and tender, the 
growth should be rapid and unchecked. I can re- 
commend French Breakfast, Golden Globe, White Stutt- 
gart an^l Chartiers. The latter is of unusual merit. 

PEAS. 
As we all want green peas as early as possible, the 
seed should be planted early — the earlier the better. 
Peas will bear a great deal of cold without the slightest 
injury, either in the ground or after they are up. Sow 
in drills at the rate of one pint of seed to thirty-five feet 
of drill. To keep up a succession make a sowing of an 
early, medium, and a late variety at the same time. 
In about two weeks make another sowing as before. 
Soil for early varieties should be warm and very rich. 
Late varieties should be planted deeper than early 
sorts, but the soil should not be so rich, as late varie- 
ties are more productive on moist, cool ground, not 



180 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

over rich. Philadelphia Extra Early, American Won- 
der and Telephone can be relied upon. After trying 
various methods for training pea vines I am satisfied 
that brush is the most effective support. Place a 
few short twigs or sticks on each side of dwarf peas, 
to prevent them from leaning over and decaying on 
the ground, as is often the case in a wet season. 

DWARF OR BUSH BEANS. 

Dwarf or bush beans should not be planted be- 
fore danger from frost is over. Being very tender, 
nothing is gained by planting earlier. They may be 
planted in hills one foot apart, with four plants to 
the hill, but the better way, I think, is to plant in 
drills, with plants three inches apart in the drill. 

Seed should be covered lightly with mellow soil. 
Beans often fail to come up, from being coa- ered too 
deeply, especially if there is much- rain after plant- 
ing. Two plantings of both early and late varieties, 
at intervals of two weeks, will give a supply until 
pole beans come in season. Beans should never be 
hoed while the foliage is w^et, as that produces rust. 
Black Wax, Early Valentine and Golden Wax are stand- 
ard sorts. 

ONIONS. 

Onions may be raised successfully either from seed 
or from sets. If to be grown from seed no time should 
be lost in getting it sown in the spring. Sow in drills " 
and thin the plants when about the size of quills, 
disturbing the remaining plants as little as possible. 
For southern latitudes and for an early supply it is 






OF ONE ACRE. 181 

better to grow onions from sets planted three inches 
apart, in drills. Sets are small onions grown the pre- 
vious year, from seed sown quite thickly. Sets may 
be planted very early, as they will not be injured 
even if the ground should freeze after they are planted. 
Wethersfield and Danvers are good varieties. For extra 
large specimens, select Italian varieties. 



KOHL EABI, EARLY CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER. 

Seed of kohl rabi, early cabbage and cauliflower 
should be sown in a hotbed, and the plants trans- 
planted to the open ground when four inches high. 

Kohl rabi is grown for its turnip-shaped bulb, 
which is formed above ground, by the expansion of 
the stem. The bulb should be used while young 
aiid tender, as age detracts from its good quality. Set 
the plants eight inches apart in the row. For later 
use sow seed in drills and thin to the proper distance 
apart. When well grown and properly prepared for 
the table, the kohl rabi is one of the most desirable 
of vegetables, and should be in every garden. Early 
WJiite Vienna is the best variety. 

Plant early cabbage in rows, with plants eighteen 
inches apart in the row\ After trying several dif- 
ferent sorts I have decided upon Early Jersey Wake- 
field, Early Flat Dutch, and Fottler^s Brunsiuick, as the 
best varieties for this latitude, and, as the cabbage 
worm has made late cabbage an uncertain crop for 
several years past here, in southern Illinois, we have 
planted largely of the Early Flat Dutch cabbage and 
had it picked and put up before the cabbage worm 



182 A KITCHEN GARDEN 



I 



made its appearance. This I know, from experience, 
to be better than the use of all the insect powders 
combined.* 

To grow cauliflower to perfection, the ground needs 
extra heavy manuring, and the plants must be sup- 
plied with an abundance of water as soon as heads 
begin to form. Plants should stand the same distance 
apart as early cabbage. The outside leaves should 
be pinned together over the centre, to shield the head 
from the direct rays of the sun, which often cause it 
to turn green, thus rendering it inferior in quality 
or entirely unfit for use. - Early Snowball and Erfurt 
are both good and reliable. Nowhere does success 
depend more on the quality of the seed than in the 
cauliflower. 

SWEET CORN. 

Sweet corn should be planted as soon as the ground 
is reasonably warm, in hills, three feet apart, three 
plants to a hill. The season for sweet corn can be 
greatly prolonged by planting early and late sorts, at 
intervals of a few weeks. There are many good early 
kinds, but I think the best late variety is StowelVs 
Evergreen, which produces ears of the largest size, 
that remain in a condition fit for the table longer 
than those of any other variety of sweet corn. 



* The reason here presented for not growing late cabbage, because the 
worms might damage some of them, is quite original, and about equal 
to not planting any potatoes, because the bugs might eat the tops. 
We can hardly conceive of a garden, however small, without late cabbage. 
For the prevention of the ravages of this pest we would suggest the use of 
alum water, as being sure, easily applied and entirely harmless to the 
user. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 183 

rOTATOES. 

If you wish to enjoy new potatoes early in the season, 
your seed potatoes must be planted as early in the 
spring as the ground can be prepared. Plant them one 
foot apart in the row and cover with the corn plow. I 
would advise the planting of medium-sized potatoes 
in preference to large ones cut to pieces. If large 
ones must be used cut them a few days beforehand, 
so that the newly cut surface may dry before planting, 
otherwise, there is danger of the pieces rotting in the 
ground, especially if there is much rain immediately 
after planting. The Early Ohio gave us excellent 
returns for several years in succession. 

We will next take under consideration that portion 
of the garden devoted to the vegetables requiring 
the greater part of the season to mature. The most 
important of these are : — 

EGG PLANTS, TOMATOES, POLE BEANS, BEETS, CARROTS, 

LATE CABBAGE, CUCUMBERS, SQUASHES AND 

SWEET POTATOES. 

Sow Egg Plant and Tomato seed in a hotbed and 
remove the young plants to a cold frame when three 
inches high, from whence do not remove them till 
the w^eather is settled and warm. 

Egg Plant will repay the extra care it requires, 
and should be in every garden. Handle the plants 
very carefully in transplanting, and never remove 
them to the open ground before the nights are 
w^arm. At the North plants may be grown in flower 
pots plunged in a cold frame till the weather is suffi- 
ciently warm. Plants should stand 2 J feet apart in 



184 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the row, and the soil should be very rich and warm. 
New York Purple is the leading variety, but those 
who succeed with the Black Pekin cannot fail to be 
pleased with its large, glossy fruits. 

When all danger from frost is over, carefully 
transplant the Tomato plants from the cold frame to 
the open ground, to stand two feet apart in the roAV. 
As they grow tie them up on a trellis and remove 
all superfluous branches, so as to give the growing 
fruit the benefit of full sunshine, without which it 
will be of inferior quality and scarcely w^orth the 
having.* Nothing can be worse than allowing 
tomato plants to grow along the ground at will 
without any support. Better it would be not to grow 
any at all than to degrade them in that manner. 
Make a small trellis, four feet high, by nailing a few 
pieces of lath across small stakes driven into the 
ground. I regard Livingston's Perfection as an 
excellent variety, and have grown extra large speci- 
mens of the Mikado, which, by the way, seems to have 



*It is the extreme richness of the soil, which is claimed by Miss Moll 
to be requisite to the growth of the Tomato, that, in her case, renders the 
use of the trellis and pruning necessary, as it induces too rank a growth 
of vine, covering the ground so that the sun and air cannot penetrate 
unless the vines are tied up. We can hardly see any clogradation in allow- 
ing the plant liberty to grow in the manner intended by nature. More 
than this, as seedsmen, we pride ourselves on the new and improved 
varieties of Tomatoes that we have introduced, and the finest we have ever 
grown — finest alike for size, color, quality and productiveness — have been 
grown on poor clay soil, that looked fairly yellow when at all di-y, and we 
have never been able to equal them on either rich heavy loam, or on light 
soils. Wo would not undervalue the tying up of a few plants for early 
use, but claim that it is unnecessary for the general crop. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 185 

been cast in the same mold as tlie Tamer Hybrid* 
Be this as it may, I can heartily recommend either 
variety to all wishing to grow fine, solid, enormous- 
sized tomatoes. 

Pole Beans, as the name implies, require poles 
or some other support for the vines to twine upon. 
The poles must be set firmly, to prevent being blown 
over by the wind. Where poles are not procurable, 
the vines may be trained upon strings stretched up 
and down along two wires, which are stretched and 
firmly fastened to posts or stakes, one wire above and 
the other below. Pole Bean trellis, seven feet high, can 
be purchased, and will answer the purpose for which 
they are intended. The best pole bean of its kind is 
the Large White Lima. Being very tender, it should 
not be planted before the ground is warm. The beans 
will come up sooner if the eye in the seed is placed 
downward. The seed should be lightly covered with 
mellow soil, as this bean, considering its size, has less 
penetrating power in coming up than any other 
kind. In rainy seasons I have covered the seed with 
cofiee grounds, which never became compact or hard 



* As stated, these Tomatoes were undoubtedly originated from the same 
stock. We received the Turner Hybrid in the spring of 1884, a small 
packet of seed being sent us by one of our customers — Mr. J. W. Turner, 
of Iowa. This seed wo had planted, an 1 were surprised at the wonderful 
growth, size and quality of the variety, but unfortunately there were two 
distinct colors : some were a rich deep red and some a pale pink, of a not 
very attractive shade. So we grew it carefully for another season before 
sending out, that we might have them all of the best color. This, we believe, 
is Kjt the case with the Mikado, as in our trial the two colors were 
present, a,:though they both are evidently of the same origin. — Ed. 



186 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

from tliG beating rains, and nearly every bean came 
up nicely, while those covered with earth were almost 
a total failure.* The Large White Lima is generally 
considered difficult to grow, but I cannot say so, as 
I have grown it without much difficulty, and had 
beans to perfection by the pailful throughout the 
summer. Mine were planted in very rich soil and 
the rows were about four feet apart, three plants to a 
hill, and the hills two feet apart. If supported by a 
trellis, beans should be placed one foot apart in the 
row. The above applies to all pole beans, whether 
Limas or string beans. Of the latter class of beans 
I have found White Creasehach a variety of great 
merit. Southern Prolific and Dutch Case Knife are also 
good. At the North, where the seasons are too short 
for the Large Lima, the Small Lima or Sieva, as it is 
also called, should be planted. 

Sow Beet and Carrot seed as early in spring as 
possible. Sow in drills and thin beets to five inches 
and carrots to three inches apart in the drill. To 
have Beets early we sometimes sow seed of an extra 
early variety in the hotbed and transplant to the 
garden when plants are a few inches high. The same 
may be done with early carrots. Sow Early Scarlet 
Horn Carrot for early use and Long Bed Coreless for 



* This idea of a mulch of light material to cover the freshly planted beans 
in a wet season is a very good one; but we would think tliat saving and 
applying Coffee Grounds for a bean patch of the size it should be in a 
garden of one acre, would bo a good deal like " emptying a hogshead of 
water with a teaspoon." Wo would suggest the use of sand, sifted coal 
ashes, chaff or buckwheat hulls, as answering the purpose equally well, and 
a3 being much more- readily obtained. — Ed. 



OF ONK ACRE. 187 

fall and winter. Eclipse is one of the best early Beets 
and Long Blood Bed is the very best late variety. 

Sow late Cabbage seed in a seed bed, when danger 
from frost is over, and when plants are three inches 
high, plant them in rows three feet apart, with plants 
2J feet apart in the row. Late Flat Dutch, Burpee's 
Surehead and Large Late Drumhead are reliable 
sorts. 

Cucumber and Squash seeds should under no 
consideration be planted before the weather is settled 
and w^arm, as the young plants are extremely tender 
and sensitive to cold. Cucumber hills should be four 
feet apart each way, and squash hills should be six feet 
apart. Scatter about a dozen seeds in a hill, and when 
the second pair of leaves have formed, remove all 
but three of the strongest plants. No fruit should be 
permitted to ripen on cucumber vines, as this greatly 
weakens the plant and prevents it from further 
setting fruit. Pinching off the tips of winter squash 
vines when they are about three feet long increases 
their productiveness. Ea^rly Green Cluster, White Spine, 
and London Long Green are good varieties of cucum- 
bers. The list of desirable squashes is long, but 
whoever growls the Pineapple and the Brazil Sugar 
Squash for early use, and the Essex Hybrid and Hub- 
bard for winter use, will not be disappointed. 

The term " hills," as used here and elsewhere in 
this paper, does not imply heaped-up soil, but simply 
means that several seeds are to be planted together 
in one place, on a level with the rest of the ground. 
This I have found to be better than heaping up the 



188 .A KITCHEN GARDEN 

ground to form hills, which soon dry out and are 
difficult to water.* 

The only plant requiring hills or ridges is the 
Sweet Potato. Throw several furrows together with 
a plow and draw the soil up with a hoe, to form a 
tapering ridge, two feet high and three feet wide at 
the bottom. The plants, which are obtained by 
planting the tubers in a hotbed, are planted two feet 
apart on top of this ridge. Being of tropical origin, 
the sweet potato plants should never be planted till 
danger from frost is over. One hoeing is generally 
sufficient, as the vines soon cover the ridge, but these 
should not be allowed to take root, as that diminishes 
the productiveness of the plant. Late varieties are 
of better quality than the early ones. 



PEPPERS, GUMBO AND LEEKS. 

No garden is complete without at least a few plants 
of peppers, gumbo and leeks. To grow Peppers to 
perfection, the young plants should be grown in the 
hotbed and be transplanted to very rich soil, from 
twelve to eighteen inches apart, according to variety. 
When they commence blooming, a liberal quantity 
of hen manure should be strewn around each plant 
and be hoed in. This will increase the product 



■" We think that the melons, cucumbers, etc., get a better start (and wc 
would include the pole beans) when the hill for seed is raised slightly 
above the surface, as it greatly lessens the danger of the young seedlings 
"damping ofT," and instead of the watering, which is here claimed to be 
necessary, wc would suggest a thorough loosening of the soil around the 
roots. — Ed. 



OF ONE ACEE. • 189 

wonderfully. Burpee's Ruby King and Golden Dawn 
are two superb new varieties. 

Gumbo, or Okea, is grown for its seed pods,- which 
are used in soups and stews. Plant the seed eighteen 
inches apart, when the ground is warm, in spring, 
and use the pods while young and tender. 

Sow Leek seed very early, in a seed bed, in a shel- 
tered place, if possible. When plants are about six 
inches long, transplant them to trenches six inches 
deep, with very rich soil at the bottom. Fill up the 
trenches as the plants grow, and later draw soil up 
to them. As a result, you will have fine, large leeks, 
blanched a foot long, which may be kept all winter 
if dug up with the roots on, and stored in moist sand 
in the cellar. Aside from being valuable for soups 
and salads, blanched leek makes an excellent dish 
when sliced and cooked like green peas. This fact 
does not seem to be generally known, as well-grown 
leek is so seldom seen in kitchen gardens.* 

We will now go back again to the ground adjoin- 
ing the parsnips and salsify. The early vegetables 
will mature and be harvested one after the other, so 
that there will be enough vacant ground in time for — 

CELERY, ENDIVEj TURNIPS, WINTER RADISHES, KALE, 

CORN SALAD, WINTER LETTUCE AND WINTER 

SPINACH. 

Sow Celery seed in a hotbed or cold frame. When 
a few inches high, plant five inches apart, in a bed, in 



«- Leek is both wholesome and palatable. We heartily endorse the words 
of recommendation, and trust that many readers will include it in their 
gardens. Kohl Eabi is another vegetable but little known in America, and 
which Miss Moll is also fully warranted in recommending. — Ed. 



190 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

the open ground, which should be especially pre- 
pared for the purpose by extra heavy manuring. Let 
tlie plants remain in this bed, to grow strong and 
stocky. Never let the ground in this bed become 
dry ; give thorough cultivation and cut off the tops of 
the plants once or twice, to make them grow stocky. 
When six or eight inches high, lift the 23lants care- 
fully and set them six or eight inches apart, in 
trenches a foot wide and fourteen or more inches 
in depth. Several inches of rotted stable manure 
should be mixed with the soil at the bottom of the 
trench. When planting, firm the ground well around 
each plant Supply enough water to keep the ground 
at the bottom of the trench very moist all the time. 
As the plants grow, press soil around the bottom of 
each plant and tie together at the top with string, to 
keep the stems straight and in an upright position. 
The blanching or earthing up is done by gradually 
filling up the trench with ground as the plants grow. 
Care should be taken not to get any ground into the 
hearts of the plants and never to earth up while they 
are wet. Sowing seed in the open ground and grow- 
ing plants on the level surface may do for cool 
northern latitudes, but my experience is that it will 
not do here in southern Illinois. Boston Market and 
Ormvford's Half Dwarf are as good as any of the 
taller varieties, and are more easily blanched.* 



* The plan here described involves much unnecessary labor. It takes con- 
siderable time to dig the trenches, and, unless the soil of the garden were 
unusually deep, this depth of trench, fourteen inches, would bring up and 
mix with the surface a great deal of very poor subsoil. As rich soil cannot 
be found at this depth, a liberal supply of manure must be put down, for 



OF ONE ACRE. 191 

Seed of Endive should not be sown early, as this 
plant is grown chiefly for late summer and autumn 
salad. In this latitude we sow at intervals from the 
middle of June to the 1st of August. Seed may be 
sown either broadcast or in drills, but the plants 
should be thinned so as to stand from six to nine 
inches apart. It may also be sown in a seed bed 
and be transplanted to the proper distance apart. 
When the plants are full grown, tie all the outside 
leaves together over the heart, to blanch the inner 
leaves, which will take about a week. To keep up a 
constant supply, some should be tied up every few 
days. Never tie up when the leaves are wet or they 
will soon decay. Green Curled and Batavian are both 
very good.* 

Turnip and winter Radish seed may be sown 
from the latter part of July to the middle of August. 
If the ground is reasonably free from weed seeds it is 
advisable to sow broadcast, otherwise it is better to 
sow in drills. In either case, it is well to remember 
that the plants should be, like the first settlers, with- 
out a near neighbor. The size and quality of the 
turnips and radishes will dej^end, to a great extent, 
upon thin sowing of the seed, or, what is still better, 

the roots to feed upon, where it -will not bo available for any future crop, 
unless the trenches were located in exactly the same spot each year. The 
increase in the labor of digging for storage would be considerable over the 
plan of surface culture as recommended in Mr. Darlington's treatise. Miss 
Moll gives as a reason the greater heat in her locality, to overcome which 
we would suggest planting between rows of tall-growing sweet corn, and 
also recommend the use of some of the self-blanching varieties of celery . — Ed. 
* Endive, commonly known in restaurants as Chicoree,is one of the most 
attractive and refreshing of salads. It is particularly appetizing when 
served mixed with lettuce, with plain French dressing. — Ed. 



192 A KITCHEN GARDEN 

a judicious thinning of the plants when young. The 
hirgest and sweetest turnips we have ever grown 
were of the Purple Top Strap-leaved variety, and were 
grown as a second crop after onions. The seed was 
sown broadcast, and no further attention given the 
plants except thinning while young. In the same 
manner and on similar soil we raised White and 
Blach Spofnish winter radishes of excellent quality, 
that weighed from four to seven pounds each. The 
Chinese Rose, though not so large, is the handsomest 
and one of the best winter radishes grown. The 
California Mammoth is a superb fall radish, but does 
not keep well in winter. The White Stuttgart is re- 
garded as a summer radish, but I have had it, grown 
as a winter radish, to kee^D firm and solid till April. 

Kale, or Borecole, is a valuable plant for spring 
greens. The variety called Dwarf German Greens is 
best for this purpose. Sow seed in drills about Sep- 
tember 1st, and give thorough cultivation till the 
approach of cold weather. When winter sets in, 
give protection w^ith a covering of straw or similar 
material, put on so as not to smother the plants. The 
most effective way of doing this is to place a layer of 
fine brush or cornstalks between the drills, to a height 
equal to or exceeding the height of the plants in the 
drills. Then cover all with a layer of clean straw, 
six inches deep. The object of putting the brush 
between the drills is to provide an air cavity between 
the plants and the covering.* 

Corn Salad, or Vetticost, is a valuable little plant 

* This is also sown at tho same time as late cabbage, and grown in the 
same manner, being used as a fall and winter supply of greens, and we 
think is most palatable in this way, — Ed. 



OF ONE ACRE. 193 

which is used for salad, the same as lettuce. For 
spring use, sow the seed any time during the month 
of September, and at the approach of cold weather 
cover the bed with a few inches of straw or hay. It 
should be used very early in spring, as it soon runs to 
seed when warm weather sets in. Altliough this plant 
will bear neglect, it will also repay good treatment. 

Seed of winter Spinach and winter Lettuce should 
also be sown during the month of September, and 
the plants should be protected with a covering of 
straw, or similar material, during winter. Put on part 
of the covering when the ground begins to freeze, 
and as the cold increases, add covering till it reaches 
a depth of four or five inches. In regions where 
heavy snowfalls can be depended upon, it may not 
be necessary to protect any of the above-named plants, 
but here and elsewhere, where winters are severe and 
the snowfall light, it is of the utmost importance to 
provide protection, or no success need be expected. 
Hammersmith is the best winter lettuce, and Round 
Leaf and Priddy Winter are two good varieties of 
spinach for fall sowing. 

The beds of kale, corn salad, winter lettuce and 
winter spinach should be arranged side by side, and 
alongside of the parsnips and salsify, so as not to in- 
terfere with the plowing of the ground in fall and 
in spring. As some of the parsnips and salsify will 
be left in the ground to be dug at leisure in spring, 
it is best to have all these vegetables side by side, so 
that when the parsnips and salsify* are dug, and the 

■ «- In this locality (Philadelphia), parsnips and salsify will start into 
13 



194 A KITCHEN GARDEN OF ONE ACRE. 

crop of kale, corn salad, etc., harvested, the whole 
ground can be plowed at once. 

Before closing, a few w^ords in regard to watering 
and transplanting may not prove amiss. 

The best time for watering is in the evening. 
Though water may be given to the roots at any time, 
it should never be sprinkled on the foliage in the hot 
sun, as that causes brown spots or blisters where it 
comes in contact with the leaves. More injury than 
good results from beginning to water a plant, and 
then not keeping it up till the necessity ceases. As 
soon as the ground begins to get dry after watering, the 
^oil should be stirred with the hoe. When you start to 
water a plant, do it thoroughly, so as to give the roots 
a soaking at every watering, or else do not water at all. 

The main points to be regarded in transplant- 
ing, are handling the plant carefully, so as to injure 
the roots as little as possible, planting firmly and 
shading to prevent the sun from withering or 
scorching the leaves. It should be borne in mind, 
that it is not nature's design that a plant should be 
transplanted, and we ought to show sympathy for a 
plant as well as for our fellow-creatures. 

And now, having taken a walk with you through 
the kitchen garden, all I have further to say is, may 
you be favored with seasonable rain and sunshine, for, 
be it remembered, without the co-operation of the 
elements all our efforts are in vain. 



growth, and become worthless for the table if left in the ground after it 
has become possible to work it in the spring. For a late supply, the roots 
should be dug and stored in a very cool cellar. This method docs not 
interfere with the garden being all thoroughly plowed in the spring. — Ed, 



INDEX. 



Aromatic herbs, 17R. 
Artichoke, Globe, 175. 

Jerusalem, 175, 

Asparagus, 40, 173. 

varieties of, 43. 

Barr's Mammoth, 43. 
Conover's Colossal, 43. 
Purple Top, 43. 

Beans, 43. 

Bush Beans, 46, 180. 

Best of All Dwarf Bean, 40. 
Black Wax, 180. 
Burpee's Perfection Wax, 44. 
Champion Bush Bean, 48. 
Early Valentine, 180. 
Golden Wax, 46, 180. 
Limas, 60. 

Dreer's Improved Lima, 50. 
Extra Early Lima, 50. 
King of the Garden, 50. 
Pole Beans, Snap Varieties, 48, 
185. 
Burpee's White Zulu, 48. 
Dutch Case Knife, 186. 
Golden Wax Flageolet, 48. 
Large White Lima, 185. 
Lazy Wife's, 48. 
Southern Prolific, 186. 
White Creaseback, or Best of 
All, 48, 186. 
Beets, 51. 

varieties of, 52. 

Burpee's Imjjroved Blood Tur- 
nip, 54. 
Eclipse, 52, 187. 
Edmand's Early Turnip, 52. 
Long Blood Red, 187. 
Blackberries, 161. 

Gregg Black Cap, 161. 
Wilson, Jr., 161. 
Wilson's Early, 161. 
Borecole, 192. 



Cabbages, 54. 

Eai-ly or Summer, 54, 181. 
Early varieties of, 01. 

Early Flat Dutch, 181. 

Early Jersey Wakefield, 61,181. 

Early Summer, 61. 

Extra Early Etampes, 61. 

Extra Early Express, 01. 

Fottler's Brunswick, 181. 

Vandergaw, 61. 
Late or Winter, 55. 
Late varieties of, 61. 

Burpee's Surehead, 61, 187. 

Danish Ball Head, 63. 

Large Late Drumhead, 187. 

Late Flat Dutch, 187. 

Short-stem Drumhead, 63. 
Cantaloupe, or Musk Melon, 69. 
varieties of, 72. 

Burpee's Netted Gem, 72. 

Emerald Gem, 72. 

Montreal Green Nutmeg, 74. 
Carrots, 07. 

varieties of, 67. 

Danvcrs Half-long Orange, 67. 

Early Very Short Horn, or 
Golden Ball, 68. 

Ox Heart, 68. 

Red Saint Vallery, 69. 

Short Horn, 67. 
Cauliflower, 65, 181. 
varieties of, 00. 

Burpee's Best Early, 07. 

Early Snowball, 06, 182. 

Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt, 00, 
182 
Celery, 74, 189. 
varieties of, 80. 

Boston Market, 190. 

Crawford's Half Dwarf, 190. 

Crimson or Red Celery, 82. 

Dwarf Golden Heart, 81. 

Golden Self-blanching, 81. 



195 



196 



INDEX. 



Celery, AVhite Plume, 82. 
Chicorec, 191. 
Chives, 175. 

Cold frames and hotbeds, 21. 
Compost, 166. 
Corn Salad, 192. 
Corn, Sweet, 83, 182. 
varieties of, 85. 

Amber Cream, 86. 

Crosby's Early Twelve-rowed, 
86. 

Potter's Excelsior, 86. , 

Stowell's Evergreen, 86, 182. 

The Cory, 85. 
Cucumbers, 87. 
varieties of, 89. 

Burpee's Giant Pera, 89. 

Early Green Prolific, 89, 187. 

Early Russian, 89. 

Improved Early White Spine, 
89, 187. 

London Long Green, 89, 187. 
Currants, 159. 



Dewberry, Lucretia, 161. 
Diagram of the garden, 15, 16, 172. 

Key to the, 17. 
Dwarf or Bush Beans, ISO. 

Early or Summer Cabbages, 54. 
Egg Plant, 91, 183. 
varieties of, 94. 
Black Pekin, 184. 
Extra Early Dwarf Round Pur- 
ple, 94. 
New York Improved Large 
Purple, 94, 184. 
Endive, 191. 
Batavian, 191. 
Green Curled, 191. 

Garden, diagram of the, 15, 16. 

laying out the, 12. 

planting the, 35. 

situation of the, 9. 

soil of the, 11. 
Globe Artichoke, 175. 
Gooseberries, 159. 
Grapes, 163. 
Gumbo, 188. 

Hammond's Slug Shot, 91. 
Hops, 95. 



Horse Radish, 94, 174. 
Hotbeds and cold frames, 21. 

Jerusalem Artichoke, 1 75, 

Kale, or Borecole, 192. 

Dwarf German Giecns, 192. 
Key to diagram, 17. 
Kohl Rabi, 181, 189. 

Early White Vienna, 181. 

Late or Winter Cabbages, 55. 
Laying out the garden, 12. 
Leeks, 188, 189. 
Lettuce, 96, 178, 193. 
varieties of, 100. 

Burpee's Golden Heart, 179. 

Burpee's Hard-Head, 100. 

Burpee's Silver Ball, 101. 

Burpee's Tomhannock, 100. 

Cos, 179. 

Hammersmith, 193. 

New York, 179. 

Perpetual, 179. 

Philadelphia White Cabbage, 
102. 

Stoneher.l Golden Yellow, 101. 

The Deacon, 102. 

The Hanson, 102, 179. 

The Tennis Ball, 102. 
Lucretia Dewberry, 161. 

Manure, 167. 
Musk Melon, 69. 

Okra, 102, 189. 
Onions, 103, 180. 
varieties of, 108. 

Lai-ge Red Wethersfield, 109, 

181. 
White Globe, 109. 
White Silverskin, or White Por- 
tugal, 109. 
Yellow Globe Danvers, 108,181. 
Italian varieties of, 110, 181. 
Burpee's Mammoth Silver 

King, 112. 
Earliest White Green, 111. 
Giant Red Rocca, 110. 
Giant Yellow Rocca, 111. 

Parsley, 112, 176. 

Extra Curled Dwarf, 113. 
Parsnips, 113, 178. 



INDEX. 



197 



Parsnips, varieties of, 115. 

Improved Guernsey, 115. 
Peas, 115, 179. 
varieties of, 117. 

American Wonder, 118, 180. 

Burpee's Extra Early, 117. 

Burpee's Quality, 120. 

Burpee's Quantity, 120. 

Champion of England, 120, 

Extra Early Premium Gem, 
118. 

Laxton's Earliest of All, 118. 

Laxton's Evolution, 119. 

Philadelphia Extra Early, 180. 

Pride of the Market, 118. 

Telephone, 180. 

The Stratagem, 119. 
Peppers, 121, 188. 
varieties of, 122. 

Bull Nose and Golden Dawn, 
123, 189. 

Burpee's Golden Upright, 123. 

Burpee's Ruby King, i22, 189. 

Celestial Pepper, 124. 

Long Narrow Cayenne, 121. 

Procopp's Giant, 124. 

Red Cluster, 123. 

Spanish Monstrous, 124:. 
Pie Plant, 174. 
Planting the garden, 35. 
Pole Beans, 185. 
Potatoes, 133, 183. 
Early Ohio, 183. 
Sweet, 135, 188. 
Procuring the seeds and plants, 15. 
Pumpkins, 125. 
varieties of, 126. 

Golden Marrow, 126. 

Quaker Pie, 126. 

Saint George or Old Negro, 126. 

Small Sugar, 126. 

Radishes, 126, 178, 191. 
varieties of, 128. 

Burpee's Earliest, 128. 
California Mammoth White 

Winter, 128, 192. 
Chinese Rose Winter, 128, 192. 
Earliest Carmine. Olive-shaped, 

130. 
Early Long Scarlet Short Top, 

'l29. 
Early Oval Dark Red, 130. 
Early Round Dark Red, 130. 



Radishes, Earlj"^ White Turijip, 130. 
French Breakftist, 130, 179. 
Half Long Scarlet, 130. 
Round Black Spanish Winter, 

128, 192. 
White-tipped Turnip, 130. 
Wood's Early Frame, 130. 
Summer varieties of, 131. 
Burpee's Surprise, 132. 
Chartiers or Shepherd, 132, 

179. 
Giant White Stuttgart, 131, 

179, 192. 
Golden Globe, 131, 179. 
Long White Globe, 132. 
Long White Vienna, 131. 
White Strasburg, 132. 
Winter varieties of, 132. 

California Mammoth White, 

132, 192. 
Chinese Rose, 133. 
White Spanish, 192. 
Raspberries, Black Cap and Red, 
161. 
Philadelphia and Cuthbert, 161. 
Rhubarb, 159, 174. 



Sage, 136, 176. 

Salad, Corn, 193. 

Salsify, 178. 

Saving seeds, 167. 

Seeds and plants, procuring the, 

15. 
Situation of the garden, 9. 
Slug Shot, Hammond's, 91. 
Small Lima, or Sieva Bean, 186. 
Soil of the garden, 11. 
Spinach, 136, 178, 193. 
varieties of, 137. 

New Long Standing, 138. 
New Thick-leaved Round, 137, 

193. 
Norfolk Savoy-leaved, 137. 
Prickly Winter, 193. 
Squashes, 138. 

Summer varieties of, 140. 
Brazil Sugar, 187. 
Early White Bush, or Patty- 
Pan, 140. 
Golden Summer Crookneck, 

140. 
White Pineapple, or White 
Turban, 140, 187. 
Winter varieties of, 141. 



198 



INDEX. 



Sqviashes, Essex Hybrid, 141, 187. 

Hubbard, 142, 187. 
Strawberries, 164. 
Summer Cabbages, 54. 
Sweet Corn, 83, 182. 
Sweet Herbs, 176. 

Anise, 176. 

Caraway, 176. 

Coriander, 176. 

Dill, 176. 

Sage, 176. 

Summer Savory, 1 76. 

Sweet Basil, 176. 

Sweet Fennel, 176. 

Sweet Marjoram, 176. 

Thyme, 176. 
Sweet Potato, 135, 188. 



Tomatoes, 142, 183. 
varieties of, 146. 

Burpee's Cardinal, 146. 
Burpee's Climax, 148. 
Essex Early Hybrid, 148. 
Extra Early Advance, 146. 
Golden Queen, 149. 
Livingston's Perfection, 184. 
Mikado, 184, 185. 
Pear-shaped Yellow, 151. 
Red Cherry, 157. 
Turner Hybrid, 149, 185. 
Victoria, 151. 



White Apple, 151. 
Tools, 29. 

Cultivator, 31. 



Tools— Fire-fly hand plow, 33. 
Hand hoes, 35. 
Harrow, 30. 
Plow, 29. 
Roller, 31. 
Seed drill, 34. 
Shovels, 35. 
Spades, 35. 
Steel rakes, 35. 
Trowels, 35. 
Wheel hoe, 32. 
Turnips, 151, 191. 
varieties of, 153. 

Early Red, or Purple Top 

Strap-leaved, 153, 192. 
Early White Flnt Dutch, 153. 
Extra Early Purple Top Milan, 
• 154. 
White Egg, 154. 

Vetticost, 192. 

Watermelons, 154. 
varieties of, 156. 

Burpee's Mammoth Ironclad, 
156. 

Cuban Queen, 158. 

Hungarian Honey, 156. 

Ice Cream, 159. 

Icing, or Ice Rind, 157. 

Jordan's Gray Monarch, 159. 

Kolb's Gem, 158. 

Phinney's Early, 159. 
Winter Cabbages, 55. 



BURPEE'S 

"HOW TO GROW 

PRIZE ESSAYS. 



How to Grow Melons for Market. 



Illustrated. Price 30 Cents, postpaid, by mail. 



Our cash prizes for best essays on this subject were won by 
Mr. J. E. Eue, Jr., of Littleton, N. C; Mr. J. T. Rosa, of 
Waverly Mills, S. C, and special prize for merit by Wm. 
Bailey, Esq., of Zanes^dlle, Ohio. In order to present the 
subject to our readers in the most comprehensive and concise 
manner, we have compiled from these essays and our own ex- 
perience a treatise that we think will be of value to every 
melon grower. It treats of both Musk Melons and Water- 
melons, with full information on the selection of soil, use and 
application of manures, selection of suitable and profitable 
varieties, planting the seed, destruction of insects, copious notes 
on cultivation of the crop, how to grow extra large melons, how 
and when to gather for market, and how to preserve for late use. 

May be had of the Publishers of the Leading Agricultural 
Papers, or will be sent, postpaid by mail, upon receipt of price, by 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO, 

Nos. 475 and 477 North Fifth Street, 
Nos. 476 and 478 York Avenue, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



POW JO GPOW 
OJIIOJIS, 

WITH NOTES ON VARIETIES. 



An exhaustive treatise, giving in full the prize essay, with 
the above title, by Mr. T. Greiner, of Monmouth County, 
N. J., also Onion Growing by Irrigation, by Col. O. 
H. Arlie, of Lake View, Oregon — carefully edited, with 
additional notes, including an article on the Growing of Sets, 
by W. Atlee Buepee. Besides other matter, it gives com- 
plete instructions on all the following subjects : — 

Kinds of Soil — Preparation of the Soil — Manures : How, 
When and What Kinds to Apply — Seed — Sowing the Seed — 
Rolling — Cultivation — Hand Weeding — The Most Useful Im- 
plements — Thinning — Injurious Insects — Harvesting the Crop 
— How to M^irket — Storing for Winter — American Varieties of 
Onions — Italian Varieties — How to Grow, Handle and Store 
Onion Sets — Onion Growing by Irrigation — General Remarks. 

Each subject connected with growing Onions is treated in a 
plain and practical manner, so that Farmers who have never 
before raised Onions for market can succeed, while even ex- 
perienced growers may find facts of interest. ILLUSTRATED. 

PRICE, 30 CENTS. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any 
address, upon receipt of price. Address 

W, ATU^^ 3\}R?tt & CO., 

Seed Growers, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



HOW TO GROW 

Gabbages and Eauliflowers 

MOST PROFITABLY. 



Illustrated, Price 30 cents, postpaid, by mail. 



It is not too mucli to say that this book gives the most com- 
plete information on the successful growing of these important 
crops that has ever been published. The prize essays, carefully 
edited, are published in full, and are written by growers of 
long experience — Capt. G. H. Howard, of Suffolk County, 
L. I., well known as one of the most successful and largest 
growers of Cauliflower and Cabbage in America, and by Mr. J. 
Pedeesen (Bjergaard), of Denmark, a well-known writer 
and grower. To these is added an appendix that will interest 
our lady friends, giving, as it does, the recipes for cooking these 
vegetables, furnished for this book by Mr. S. J. Soyer, Chief 
Cook to His Majesty, the King of Denmark. The book treats 
fully on : — 

How to succeed with CABBAGES— The Best Soils— The Cabbage a 
Greedy Feeder — Manures — Planting and Cultivation— Insects — Early Cabbages — 
Late Cabbages— Cutting and Marketing. — ^^■^———^ 

CAULIFLOWER —Selection of Land— Making Seed Bed and Sowing 
Seed— Cultivation— The Earliest Forcing of Cauliilowers— Cauliflowers in the 
Open Ground— For the Family Garden— Enemies of the Cauliflower— Varieties 

Tying and Bleaching — Cutting — Trimming — Packing for Market — How to 

Keep for Winter Use — Numerous Recipes for Cooking Cabbage and Cauliflower. 

Few, if any, crops that can be grown on the farm yield larger 
returns than Cabbage and Cauliflower, and with this "How 
to Grow " Treatise success is reasonably assured. 

To be had of Houses handling Agricultural Books, or will be 
sent, postpaid, by mail, upon receipt of price by the Publishers, 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., 

PHILADELPHIA, PA., AND LONDON, ENGLAND. 



ROOT CROPS 



FOR 



STOCK FEEDING, 

AND HOW TO GROW THEM. 



Illustrated. Price 30 Cents, by mail, postpaid. 



This treatise has been carefully compiled from the prize 
essays, with copious additions from our own experience in 
growing these crops. It treats fully not only on How to 
Grow, but also How to Store and How to Feed, with notes 
on the relative value for stock feeding of the different A'arieties 
of Beets, Mangels, Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips and Ruta Bagas. 
In these days of low prices for cereals and high valuation of 
land, Root Crops for Stock Feeding is a subject of the 
greatest importance to every progressive farmer desirous of 
making the farm pay a profit. 

Sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price. 



BURPEE'S FARM ANNUAL. 

A handsomely illustrated catalogue of the Best Garden, Farm 
and Flower Seeds, Bulbs and Plants is published by January 
1st of each year and mailed gratis to all intending purchasers of 
seeds. Address , / 

W.ATLEE BURPEE & 00., 

^^ Seed Gi^owei^s, 

PD61 a PHILADELPHIA, pa. 




^^ 



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